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First Across the Continent 




Lewis's First Glimpse of the Rockies 



First 
Across the Continent 



THE STORY OF 



The Exploring Expedition of Lewis 
and Clark in i8oj—^—^ 



By Noah Brooks 



New York 

Charles Scribner's Sons 

1901 



r 



.7 

■;s87 



THE LIBRARY OF 

CONGRESS, 
Two COfita Received 

OCT. 4 1901 

COPVRIOMT iNTRY 

OCT, 2 IjOI 

CLASS Ci XXg. No, 
COPY 



•Z 



Copyright, igoT 
By Charles Scribner's Sons 



Published October, igoi 



UNIVERSITY PRESS • JOHN WILSON 
AND SON • CAMBRIDGE, U.S.A. 



Preface 

THE story of the expedition of Lewis and Clark is 
one of surpassing interest. These men, with their 
faithful followers, were the first white men who crossed the 
continent of North America between the regions occupied 
by the Spanish and those of the people of English descent. 
They were the first to explore the valleys of the Upper 
[issouri, the Yellowstone, and the Columbia and its tribu- 
ies. Many of the red men who inhabited those pathless 
wildernesses looked for the first time on pale-faces when 
they saw these adventurous discoverers. 

The narrative of this expedition, official and personal, 
has lived through many vicissitudes. Taking no account 
of the messages to Congress, sent in by President Jefferson 
and giving some account of the doings of Lewis and Clark 
(and subsequently used as a basis for other and apocry- 
phal publications), the first authoritative narrative of the 
expedition was not published until 1814, although the 
expedition occupied parts of the years 1804-5-6, and the 
public demand for the story, both in this country and in 
Europe, had already stimulated the production of many 
versions, more or less fraudulent and imperfect. The 
tale of trials and disappointments attending the first publi- 



vi Preface 

cation of this remarkable book is one of many of the his- 
tories of strugghng book-making and authorship. The 
author and editor of that first work was Nicholas Biddle, 
of Philadelphia, and it was finally given to the world with 
the name of Paul Allen on its titlepage as editor. 

This edition was republished in London, Dublin, Ger- 
many, Holland, New York, and Paris during years ensuing. 
Altogether, there have been about forty imprints of the 
story of the Lewis and Clark expedition. The two latest of 
these are those of Harper and Brothers, edited by Archi- 
bald M'Vickar, and published in 1847 5 ^^^ that edited by 
Dr. Elliott Coues, and published by Francis P. Harper, 
New York, 1893. Dr. M'Vickar's work is long since out of 
print. That of Dr. Coues, comprised in four volumes and 
limited to an edition of one thousand copies, can now be 
obtained with difficulty and at considerable expense. It 
is hoped that the present version of the story of the expe- 
dition, told as fully as possible in the language of the 
heroic men who modestly penned the record of their own 
doings and observations, will be acceptable to many read- 
ers, especially to young folks, who will here read for the 
first time a concise narrative of the first exploring expedi- 
tion sent into a wilderness destined to become the seat of 
a mighty empire. 

The author and editor of these pages is indebted for 
suggestions in the footnotes written by Dr. Coues, a gen- 
tleman whose wide experience as an explorer of the West 



Preface 



Vll 



and as naturalist, military man, and geologist admirably 
fitted him for the laborious task which he imposed upon 
himself and which he performed with painstaking fidelity. 
And it may be added that the author-editor of the present 
volume, having been himself an early pilgrim across the 
great plains, has been able to add a little to the notes 
which now appear to be needful to the full understanding 
of the narrative of Lewis and Clark's expedition. 



Contents 



Chapter Page 

I. A Great Transaction in Land i 

II, Beginning a Long Journey 6 

III. From the Lower to the Upper River .... 14 

IV. Novel Experiences among the Indians ... 23 
V. From the Tetons to the Mandans 33 

VI. Winter among the Mandans 46 

VII. From Fort Mandan to the Yellowstone . . 57 

VIII. In the Haunts of Grizzlies and Buffalo . . d"] 

IX. In the Solitudes of the Upper Missouri . . 80 

X. To THE Great Falls of the Missouri .... 97 

XI. In the Heart of the Continent no 

XI I. At the Sources of the Missouri 137 

XII I. From the Minnetarees to the Shoshonees . . 149 

XIV. Across the Great Divide 165 

XV. Down the Pacific Slope 183 

XVI. Down the Columbia to Tidewater 201 

XVII. From Tidewater to the Sea 220 

XVIII. Camping by the Pacific 235 

XIX. With Faces turned Homeward 253 

XX. The Last Stage of the Columbia 266 



X Contents 

Chapter Pagb 

XXI. Overland East of the Columbia 277 

XXII. Camping with the Nez Perces 295 

XXIII. Crossing the Bitter Root Mountains .... 305 

XXIV. The Expedition Subdivided 312 

XXV. Adventures on the Yellowstone 327 

XXVI. The End of a Long Journey 342 



List of Illustrations 



Lewis's First Glimpse of the Rockies .... Frontispiece 
Drawn by F. C. Yohn. 

FACING PAGE 

Portraits of Lewis and Clark i 

From originals in Independence Hall, Philadelphia. 

Before and after Civilization 26 

Drawn by George Catlin. 

" Black Moccasin " 46 

Drawn by George Catlin. 

A Mandan Village 54 

Drawn by George Catlin. 

Decoying Elk with a Handkerchief . 70 

Drawn by George Catlin 

Indians disguised as Buffaloes 88 

Drawn by George Catlin. 

Drawing of a Cache 98 

White Bear Portage no 

From Clark's original survey. 

A Grizzly Bear ,,,,... 120 

Drawn by A. B. Frost. 

Beaver Dams, Smith's River , . . . . 134 



xii List of Illustrations 

FACING PAGE 

Shoshonee Implements 146 

From Schoolcraft's " Red Men of America." 

Buffalo Hunt .178 

Drawn by George Catlin. 

Indian Vapor Baths 188 

Drawn by George Catlin. 

Indian Offerings to the Dead 202 

From Schoolcraft's " Red Men of America." 

Flattening a Chinook Baby's Head 212 

Drawn by George Catlin. 

Multnomah Falls, Columbia River 222 

Elk o . . . , 236 

Falls of the Columbia 262 

From Clark's original survey. 

Lewis in Indian Dress 290 

Drawn by St Memin. 

Buffaloes at Drinking-Place 300 

Drawn by Ernest Seton-Thompson. 

A Group of Buffaloes 318 

Drawn by Ernest Seton-Thompson. 

A Big Horn Pasturage 338 

Drawn by Ernest Seton-Thompson. 

Buffaloes on the Plains .'..... 352 

Drawn by Ernest Seton-Thompson 



First Across the Continent 



First Across the Continent 

Chapter I 

A Great Transaction in Land 

THE people of the young Republic of the United 
States were greatly astonished, in the summer of 
1803, to learn that Napoleon Bonaparte, then First Consul 
of France, had sold to us the vast tract of land known as 
the country of Louisiana. The details of this purchase 
were arranged in Paris (on the part of the United States) 
by Robert R. Livingston and James Madison. The French 
government was represented by Barbe-Marbois, Minister 
of the Public Treasury. 

The price to be paid for this vast domain was fifteen 
million dollars. The area of the country ceded was reck- 
oned to be more than one million square miles, greater 
than the total area of the United States, as the Republic 
then existed. Roughly described, the territory comprised 
all that part of the continent west of the Mississippi River, 
bounded on the north by the British possessions and on 
the west and south by dominions of Spain. This in- 
cluded the region in which now lie the States of Louisi- 
ana, Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, a part of Colorado, the 
States of Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, 
Wyoming, a part of Idaho, and all of Montana. At that 
time, the entire population of the region, exclusive of the 
Indian tribes that roamed over its trackless spaces, was 
barely ninety thousand persons, of whom forty thousand 

I 



First Across the Continent 



were negro slaves. The civilized inhabitants were princi- 
pally French, or descendants of French, with a few 
Spanish, Germans, English, and Americans. 

The purchase of this tremendous slice of territory could 
not be complete without an approval of the bargain by 
the United States Senate. Great opposition to this was 
immediately excited by people in various parts of the 
Union, especially in New England, where there was a very 
bitter feeling against the prime mover in this business, — 
Thomas Jefferson, then President of the United States. 
The scheme was ridiculed by persons who insisted that 
the region was not only wild and unexplored, but unin- 
habitable and worthless. They derided " The Jefferson 
Purchase," as they called it, as a useless piece of extrava- 
gance and folly ; and, in addition to its being a foolish 
bargain, it was urged that President Jefferson had no right, 
under the constitution of the United States, to add any 
territory to the area of the Republic. 

Nevertheless, a majority of the people were in favor of 
the purchase, and the bargain was duly approved by the 
United States Senate ; that body, July 31, 1803, just 
three months after the execution of the treaty of cession, 
formally ratified the important agreement between the 
two governments. The dominion of the United States 
was now extended across the entire continent of North 
America, reaching from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The 
Territory of Oregon was already ours. 

This momentous transfer took place one hundred years 
ago, when almost nothing was known ,of the region so 
summarily handed from the government of France to the 
government of the American Republic. No white man 
had ever traversed those trackless plains, or scaled the 
frowning ranges of mountains that barred the way across 



A Great Transaction in Land 



the continent. There were living in the fastnesses of the 
mysterious interior of the Louisiana Purchase many tribes 
of Indians who had never looked in the face of the white 
man. 

Nor was the Pacific shore of the country any better 
known to civilized man than was the region lying between 
that coast and the Big Muddy, or Missouri River. Spanish 
voyagers, in 1602, had sailed as far north as the harbors 
of San Diego and Monterey, in what is now California ; 
and other explorers, of the same nationality, in 1775, 
extended their discoveries as far north as the fifty-eighth 
degree of latitude. Famous Captain Cook, the great navi- 
gator of the Pacific seas, in 1778, reached and entered 
Nootka Sound, and, leaving numerous harbors and bays 
unexplored, he pressed on and visited the shores of Alaska, 
then called Unalaska, and traced the coast as far north as 
Icy Cape. Cold weather drove him westward across the 
Pacific, and he spent the next winter at Owyhee, where, 
in February of the following year, he was killed by the 
natives. 

All these explorers were looking for chances for fur- 
trading, which was at that time the chief industry of the 
Pacific coast. Curiously enough, they all passed by the 
mouth of the Columbia without observing that there was 
the entrance to one of the finest rivers on the American 
continent. 

Indeed, Captain Vancouver, a British explorer, who has 
left his name on the most important island of the North 
Pacific coast, baffled by the deceptive appearances of the 
two capes that guard the way to a noble stream (Cape 
Disappointment and Cape Deception), passed them with- 
out a thought. But Captain Gray, sailing the good ship 
" Columbia," of Boston, who coasted those shores for more 



First Across the Continent 



than two years, fully convinced that a strong current which 
he observed off those capes came from a river, made a 
determined effort; and on the nth of May, 1792, he dis- 
covered and entered the great river that now bears the 
name of his ship. At last the key that was to open the 
mountain fastnesses of the heart of the continent had been 
found. The names of the capes christened by Vancouver 
and re-christened by Captain Gray have disappeared from 
our maps, but in the words of one of the numerous editors^ 
of the narrative of the exploring expedition of Lewis and 
Clark: " The name of the good ship ' Columbia,' it is not 
hard to believe, will flow with the waters of the bold river 
as long as grass grows or water runs in the valleys of the 
Rocky Mountains." 

It appears that the attention of President Jefferson had 
been early attracted to the vast, unexplored domain which 
his wise foresight was finally to add to the territory of the 
United States. While he was living in Paris, as the repre- 
sentative of the United States, in 1785-89, he made the 
acquaintance of John Ledyard, of Connecticut, the well- 
known explorer, who had then in mind a scheme for the 
establishment of a fur-trading post on the western coast of 
America. Mr. Jefferson proposed to Ledyard that the 
most feasible route to the coveted fur-bearing lands would 
be through the Russian possessions and downward some- 
where near to the latitude of the then unknown sources of the 
Missouri River, entering the United States by that route. 
This scheme fell through on account of the obstacles 
thrown in Ledyard's way by the Russian Government. A 
few years later, in 1792, Jefferson, whose mind was appar- 
ently fixed on carrying out his project, proposed to the 
American Philosophical Society of Philadelphia that a 

1 Dr. Archibald McVickar. 



A Great Transaction in Land 



subscription should be opened for the purpose of raising 
money " to engage some competent person to explore that 
region in the opposite direction (from the Pacific coast), — 
that is, by ascending the Missouri, crossing the Stony 
[Rocky] Mountains, and descending the nearest river to 
the Pacific." This was the hint from which originated the 
famous expedition of Lewis and Clark. 

But the story-teller should not forget to mention that 
hardy and adventurous explorer, Jonathan Carver. This 
man, the son of a British officer, set out from Boston, in 
1766, to explore the wilderness north of Albany and lying 
along the southern shore of the Great Lakes. He was 
absent two years and seven months, and in that time he 
collected a vast amount of useful and strange information, 
besides learning the language of the Indians among whom 
he lived. He conceived the bold plan of travelling up a 
branch of the Missouri (or " Messorie "), till, having dis- 
covered the source of the traditional " Oregon, or River of 
the West," on the western side of the lands that divide the 
continent, ** he would have sailed down that river to the 
place where it is said to empty itself, near the Straits of 
Anian." 

By the Straits of Anian, we are to suppose, were meant 
some part of Behring's Straits, separating Asia from the 
American continent. Carver's fertile imagination, stimu- 
lated by what he knew of the remote Northwest, pictured 
that wild region where, according to a modern poet, " rolls 
the Oregon and hears no sound save his own dashing." 
But Carver died without the sight; in his later years, he 
said of those who should follow his lead : " While their 
spirits are elated by their success, perhaps they may be- 
stow some commendations and blessings on the person 
who first pointed out to them the way." 



Chapter II 

Begijtning a Long Journey 

IN 1803, availing himself of a plausible pretext to send 
out an exploring expedition, President Jefferson asked 
Congress to appropriate a small sum of money ($2,500) 
for the execution of his purpose. At that time the cession 
of the Louisiana Territory had not been completed ; but 
matters were in train to that end, and before the expedi- 
tion was fairly started on its long journey across the con- 
tinent, the Territory was formally ceded to the United 
States. 

Meriwether Lewis, a captain in the army, was selected 
by Jefferson to lead the expedition. Captain Lewis was a 
native of Virginia, and at that time was only twenty-nine 
years old. He had been Jefferson's private secretary for 
two years and was, of course, familiar with the President's 
plans and expectations as these regarded the wonder-land 
which Lewis was to enter. It is pleasant to quote here Mr. 
Jefferson's words concerning Captain Lewis. In a memoir 
of that distinguished young officer, written after his death, 
Jefferson said : " Of courage undaunted ; possessing a firm- 
ness and perseverance of purpose which nothing but im- 
possibilities could divert from its direction ; careful as a 
father of those committed to his charge, yet steady in the 
maintenance of order and discipline ; intimate with the 
Indian character, customs and principles ; habituated to 
the hunting life; guarded, by exact observation of the 
vegetables and animals of his own country, against losing 



Beginning a Long Journey 



time in the description of objects already possessed ; hon- 
est, disinterested, Hberal, of sound understanding, and a 
fidelity to truth so scrupulous that whatever he should 
report would be as certain as if seen by ourselves — with 
all these qualifications, as if selected and implanted by 
nature in one body for this express purpose, I could have 
no hesitation in confiding the enterprise to him." 

Before we have finished the story of Meriwether Lewis 
and his companions, we shall see that this high praise of 
the youthful commander was well deserved. 

For a coadjutor and comrade Captain Lewis chose Wil- 
liam Clark,^ also a native of Virginia, and then about thirty- 
three years old. Clark, hke Lewis, held a commission in 
the military service of the United States, and his appoint- 
ment as one of the leaders of the expedition with which 
his name and that of Lewis will ever be associated, made 
the two men equal in rank. Exactly how there could be 
two captains commanding the same expedition, both of 
the same military and actual rank, without jar or quarrel, 
we cannot understand ; but it is certain that the two young 
men got on together harmoniously, and no hint or sus- 
picion of any serious disagreement between the two cap- 
tains during their long and arduous service has come down 
to us from those distant days. 

As finally organized, the expedition was made up of 
the two captains (Lewis and Clark) and twenty-six men. 
These were nine young men from Kentucky, who were 

^ It is a little singular that Captain Clark's name has been so per- 
sistently misspelled by historians and biographers. Even in most of 
the published versions of the story of the Lewis and Clark expedition, 
the name of one of the captains is spelled Clarke. Clark's own signa- 
ture, of which many are in existence, is without the final and superflu- 
ous vowel ; and the family name, for generations past, does not show it. 



8 First Across the Continent 

used to life on the frontier among Indians ; fourteen 
soldiers of the United States Army, selected from many 
who eagerly volunteered their services ; two French voya- 
geiirSy or watermen, one of whom was an interpreter of 
Indian language, and the other a hunter ; and one black 
man, a servant of Captain Clark. All these, except the 
negro servant, were regularly enlisted as privates in the 
military service of the United States during the expedi- 
tion ; and three of them were by the captains appointed 
sergeants. In addition to this force, nine voyageurs and 
a corporal and six private soldiers were detailed to act as 
guides and assistants until the explorers should reach the 
country of the Mandan Indians, a region lying around the 
spot where is now situated the flourishing city of Bismarck, 
the capital of North Dakota. It was expected that if 
hostile Indians should attack the explorers anywhere 
within the limits of the little-known parts through which 
they were to make their way, such attacks were more 
likely to be made below the Mandan country than 
elsewhere. 

The duties of the explorers were numerous and im- 
portant. They were to explore as thoroughly as possible 
the country through which they were to pass ; making 
such observations of latitude and longitude as would be 
needed when maps of the region should be prepared by 
the War Department; observing the trade, commerce, 
tribal relations, manners and customs, language, traditions, 
and monuments, habits and industrial pursuits, diseases 
and laws of the Indian nations with whom they might 
come in contact; note the floral, mineral, and animal 
characteristics of the country, and, above all, to report 
whatever might be of interest to citizens who might there- 
after be desirous of opening trade relations with those 



Beginning a Long Journey 



wild tribes of which almost nothing was then distinctly 
known. 

The list of articles with which the explorers were pro- 
vided, to aid them in establishing peaceful relations with 
the Indians, might amuse traders of the present day. But 
in those primitive times, and among peoples entirely 
ignorant of the white man's riches and resources, coats 
richly laced with gilt braid, red trousers, medals, flags, 
knives, colored handkerchiefs, paints, small looking-glasses, 
beads and tomahawks were believed to be so attractive 
to the simple-minded red man that he would gladly do 
much and give much of his own to win such prizes. Of 
these fine things there were fourteen large bales and one 
box. The stores of the expedition were clothing, work- 
ing tools, fire-arms, food supplies, powder, ball, lead for 
bullets, and flints for the guns then in use, the old-fashioned 
flint-lock rifle and musket being still in vogue in our 
country ; for all of this was at the beginning of the 
present century. 

As the party was to begin their long journey by ascend- 
ing the Missouri River, their means of travel were provided 
in three boats. The largest, a keel-boat, fifty-five feet 
long and drawing three feet of water, carried a big square 
sail and twenty-two seats for oarsmen. On board this 
craft was a small swivel gun. The other two boats were 
of that variety of open craft known as pirogue, a craft 
shaped like a flat-iron, square-sterned, flat-bottomed, 
roomy, of light draft, and usually provided with four oars 
and a square sail which could be used when the wind was 
aft, and which also served as a tent, or night shelter, on 
shore. Two horses, for hunting or other occasional ser- 
vice, were led along the banks of the river. 

As we have seen. President Jefferson, whose master mind 



lo First Across the Continent 

organized and devised this expedition, had dwelt longingly 
on the prospect of crossing the continent from the head- 
waters of the Missouri to the headwaters of the then 
newly-discovered Columbia. The route thus explored 
was more difficult than that which was later travelled by 
the first emigrants across the continent to California. 
That route lies up the Platte River, through what is 
known as the South Pass of the Rocky Mountains, by 
Great Salt Lake and down the valley of the Humboldt 
into California, crossing the Sierra Nevada at any one of 
several points leading into the valley of the Sacramento. 
The route, which was opened by the gold-seekers, was 
followed by the first railroads built across the continent. 
The route that lay so firmly in Jefferson's mind, and which 
was followed up with incredible hardships by the Lewis 
and Clark expedition, has since been traversed by two 
railroads, built after the first transcontinental rails were 
laid. If Jefferson had desired to find the shortest and 
most feasible route across the continent, he would have 
pointed to the South Pass and Utah basin trails. But 
these would have led the explorers into California, then 
and long afterwards a Spanish possession. The entire line 
finally traced over the Great Divide lay within the terri- 
tory of the United States. 

But it must be remembered that while the expedition 
was being organized, the vast Territory of Louisiana was as 
yet a French possession. Before the party were brought 
together and their supplies collected, the territory passed 
under the jurisdiction of the United States. Nevertheless, 
that jurisdiction was not immediately acknowledged by the 
officials who, up to that time, had been the representatives 
of the French and Spanish governments. Part of the ter- 
ritory was transferred from Spain to France and then from 



Beginning a Long Journey 1 1 

France to the United States. It was intended that the 
exploring party should pass the winter of 1803-4 in St. 
Louis, then a mere village which had been commonly known 
as Pain Court. But the Spanish governor of the province 
had not been officially told that the country had been 
transferred to the United States, and, after the Spanish 
manner, he forbade the passage of the Americans through 
his jurisdiction. In those days communication between 
frontier posts and points lying far to the eastward of the 
Mississippi was very difficult; it required six weeks to 
carry the mails between New York, Philadelphia, and 
Washington to St. Louis ; and this was the reason why a 
treaty, ratified in July, was not officially heard of in St, 
Louis as late as December of that year. The explorers, 
shut out of Spanish territory, recrossed the Mississippi 
and wintered at the mouth of Wood River, just above 
St. Louis, on the eastern side of the great river, in United 
States territory. As a matter of record, it may be said 
here that the actual transfer of the lower part of the 
territory — commonly known as Orleans — took place at 
New Orleans, December 20, 1803, and the transfer of the 
upper part was effected at St. Louis, March 10, 1804, before 
the Lewis and Clark expedition had started on its long 
journey to the northwestward. 

All over the small area of the United States then existed 
a deep interest in the proposed explorations of the course 
and sources of the Missouri River. The explorers were 
about to plunge into vast solitudes of which white people 
knew less than we know now about the North Polar country. 
Wild and extravagant stories of what was to be seen in 
those trackless regions were circulated in the States. For 
example, it was said that Lewis and Clark expected to find 
the mammoth of prehistoric times still living and wander- 



12 First Across the Continent 

ing in the Upper Missouri region ; and it was commonly 
reported that somewhere, a thousand miles or so up the 
river, was a solid mountain of rock salt, eighty miles long 
and forty-five miles wide, destitute of vegetation and glit- 
tering in the sun ! These, and other tales like these, were 
said to be believed and doted upon by the great Jefferson 
himself. The Federalists, or " Feds," as they were called, 
who hated Jefferson, pretended to believe that he had 
invented some of these foolish yarns, hoping thereby to 
make his Louisiana purchase more popular in the 
Republic. 

In his last letter to Captain Lewis, which was to reach 
the explorers before they started, Jefferson said : " The 
acquisition of the country through which you are to pass 
has inspired the country generally with a great deal of 
interest in your enterprise. The inquiries are perpetual as 
to your progress. The Feds alone still treat it as a phil- 
osophism, and would rejoice at its failure. Their bitter- 
ness increases with the diminution of their numbers and 
despair of a resurrection. I hope you will take care of 
yourself, and be a living witness of their malice and folly." 
Indeed, after the explorers were lost sight of in the wilder- 
ness which they were to traverse, many people in the 
States declaimed bitterly against the folly that had sent 
these unfortunate men to perish miserably in the fathom- 
less depths of the continent. They no longer treated it 
" as a philosophism," or wild prank, but as a wicked scheme 
to risk life and property in a search for the mysteries of the 
unknown and unknowable. 

As a striking illustration of this uncertainty of the out- 
come of the expedition, which exercised even the mind 
of Jefferson, it may be said that in his instructions to Cap- 
tain Lewis he said : " Our Consuls, Thomas Hewes, at 



Beginning a Long Journey i 3 

Batavia in Java, William Buchanan in the Isles of France 
and Bourbon, and John Elmslie at the Cape of Good Hope, 
will be able to supply your necessities by drafts on us." 
All this seems strange enough to the young reader of the 
present day; but this was said and done one hundred 
years ago. 



Chapter III 
From the Lower to the Upper River 

THE party finally set sail up the Missouri River on 
Monday, May 21, 1804, but made only a few miles, 
owing to head winds. Four days later they camped near 
the last white settlement on the Missouri, — La Charrette, 
a little village of seven poor houses. Here lived Daniel 
Boone, the famous Kentucky backwoodsman, then nearly 
seventy years old, but still vigorous, erect, and strong of 
limb. Here and above this place the explorers began to 
meet with unfamiliar Indian tribes and names. For example, 
they met two canoes loaded with furs " from the Mahar 
nation." The writer of the Lewis and Clark journal, upon 
whose notes we rely for our story, made many slips of this 
sort. By " Mahars " we must understand that the Omahas 
were meant. We shall come across other such instances in 
which the strangers mistook the pronunciation of Indian 
names. For example, Kansas was by them misspelled as 
" Canseze " and " Canzan; " and there appear some thir- 
teen or fourteen different spellings of Sioux, of which one 
of the most far-fetched is " Scouex." 

The explorers were now in a country unknown to them 
and almost unknown to any white man. On the thirty-first 
of May, a messenger came down the Grand Osage River 
bringing a letter from a person who wrote that the Indians, 
having been notified that the country had been ceded to 
the Americans, burned the letter containing the tidings, 



From the Lower to the Upper River 15 

refusing to believe the report, j The Osage Indians, 
through whose territory they were now passing, were 
among the largest and finest-formed red men of the West. 
Their name came from the the river along which they 
warred and hunted, but their proper title, as they called 
themselves, was " the Wabashas," and from them, in later 
years, we derive the familiar name of Wabash. \A curious 
tradition of this people, according to the journal of Lewis 
and Clark, is that the founder of the nation was a snail, 
passing a quiet existence along the banks of the Osage, 
till a high flood swept him down to the Missouri, and left 
him exposed on the shore. The heat of the sun at length 
ripened him into a man ; but with the change of his nature 
he had not forgotten his native seats on the Osage, towards 
which he immediately bent his way. He was, however, 
soon overtaken by hunger and fatigue, when happily, 
the Great Spirit appeared, and, giving him a bow and 
arrow, showed him how to kill and cook deer, and cover 
himself with the skin. He then proceeded to his original 
residence ; but as he approached the river he was met by 
a beaver, who inquired haughtily who he was, and by what 
authority he came to disturb his possession. The Osage 
answered that the river was his own, for he had once lived on 
its borders. As they stood disputing, the daughter of the 
beaver came, and having, by her entreaties, reconciled her 
father to this young stranger, it was proposed that the 
Osage should marry the young beaver, and share with her 
family the enjoyment of the river. The Osage readily 
consented, and from this happy union there soon came the 
village and the nation of the Wabasha, or Osages, who 
have ever since preserved a pious reverence for their ances- 
tors, abstaining from the chase of the beaver, because in 
killing that animal they killed a brother of the Osage. Of 



1 6 First Across the Continent 

late years, however, since the trade with the whites has 
rendered beaver-skins more valuable, the sanctity of these 
maternal relatives has been visibly reduced, and the poor 
animals have lost all the privileges of kindred. \ 

Game was abundant all along the river as the explorers 
sailed up the stream. Their hunters killed numbers of 
deer, and at the mouth of Big Good Woman Creek, which 
empties into the Missouri near the present town of Frank- 
lin, Howard County, three bears were brought into the 
camp. Here, too, they began to find salt springs, or " salt 
licks," to which many wild animals resorted for salt, of 
which they were very fond. Saline County, Missouri, per- 
petuates the name given to the region by Lewis and Clark. 
Traces of buffalo were also found here, and occasional 
wandering traders told them that the Indians had begun 
to hunt the buffalo now that the grass had become abund- 
ant enough to attract this big game from regions lying 
further south. 

By the tenth of June the party had entered the country 
of the Ayauway nation. This was an easy way of spelling 
the word now familiar to us as " Iowa." But before that 
spelling was reached, it was Ayaway, Ayahwa, lawai, 
laway, and so on. The remnants of this once powerful 
tribe now number scarcely two hundred persons. In Lewis 
and Clark's time, they were a large nation, with several 
hundred warriors, and were constantly at war with their 
neighbors. Game here grew still more abundant, and in 
addition to deer and bear the hunters brought in a rac- 
coon. One of these hunters brought into camp a wild tale 
of a snake which, he said, " made a guttural noise like a 
turkey." One of the French voyagetirs confirmed this 
story; but the croaking snake was never found and 
identified. 



From the Lower to the Upper River 17 

On the twenty- fourth of June the explorers halted to 
prepare some of the meat which their hunters brought in. 
Numerous herds of deer were feeding on the abundant 
grass and young willows that grew along the river banks. 
The meat, cut in small strips, or ribbons, was dried quickly 
in the hot sun. This was called " jirked " meat. Later 
on the word was corrupted into "jerked," and "jerked 
beef" is not unknown at the present day. The verb 
"jerk" is corrupted from the Chilian word, charqiii, 
meaning sun-dried meat ; but it is not easy to explain how 
the Chilian word got into the Northwest. 

As the season advanced, the party found many delicious 
wild fruits, such as currants, plums, raspberries, wild 
apples, and vast quantities of mulberries. Wild turkeys 
were also found in large numbers, and the party had evi- 
dently entered a land of plenty. Wild geese were abund- 
ant, and numerous tracks of elk were seen. But we may 
as well say here that the so-called elk of the Northwest 
is not the elk of ancient Europe ; a more correct and 
distinctive name for this animal is wapiti, the name given 
the animal by the Indians. The European elk more 
closely resembles the American moose. Its antlers are 
flat, low, and palmated like our moose ; whereas the 
antlers of the American elk, so-called, are long, high, and 
round-shaped with many sharp points or tines. 

The mouth of the great Platte River was reached on the 
twenty-first of July. This famous stream was then re- 
garded as a sort of boundary line between the known and 
unknown regions. As mariners crossing the equator 
require all their comrades, who have not been " over the 
line " to submit to lathering and shaving, so the Western 
voyagcurs merrily compelled their mates to submit to 
similar horse-play. The great river was also the mark 



1 8 First Across the Continent 

above which explorers entered upon what was called the 
Upper Missouri, 

The expedition was now advancing into a region in- 
habited by several wandering tribes of Indians, chief of 
which were the Ottoes, Missouris, and Pawnees. It was 
determined, therefore, to call a council of some of the 
chiefs of these bands and make terms of peace with them. 
After some delay, the messengers sent out to them brought 
in fourteen representative Indians, to whom the white men 
made presents of roast meat, pork, flour, and corn-meal, in 
return for which their visitors brought them quantities of 
delicious watermelons. " Next day, August 3," says the 
journal, " the Indians, with their six chiefs, were all assem- 
bled under an awning formed with the mainsail, in pres- 
ence of all our party, paraded for the occasion. A speech 
was then made, announcing to them the change in the 
government, our promises of protection, and advice as to 
their future conduct. All the six chiefs replied to our 
speech, each in his turn, according to rank. They ex- 
pressed their joy at the change in the government ; their 
hopes that we would recommend them to their Great 
Father (the president), that they might obtain trade and 
necessaries : they wanted arms as well for hunting as for 
defence, and asked our mediation between them and the 
Mahas, with whom they are now at war. We promised to 
do so, and wished some of them to accompany us to that 
nation, which they declined, for fear of being killed by 
them. We then proceeded to distribute our presents. 
The grand chief of the nation not being of the party, we 
sent him a flag, a medal, and some ornaments for cloth- 
ing. To the six chiefs who were present, we gave a medal 
of the second grade to one Ottoe chief and one Missouri 
chief; a medal of the third grade to two inferior chiefs of 



From the Lower to the Upper River 19 

each nation ; the customary mode of recognizing a chief 
being to place a medal round his neck, which is considered 
among his tribe as a proof of his consideration abroad. 
Each of these medals was accompanied by a present of 
paint, garters, and cloth ornaments of dress ; and to this 
we added a canister of powder, a bottle of whiskey, and a 
few presents to the whole, which appeared to make them 
perfectly satisfied. The air-gun, too, was fired, and aston- 
ished them greatly. The absent grand chief was an 
Ottoe, named VVeahrushhah, which, in English, degen- 
erates into Little Thief. The two principal chieftains pres- 
ent were Shongotongo, or Big Horse, and Wethea, or 
Hospitality; also Shosguscan, or White Horse, an Ottoe ; 
the first an Ottoe, the second a Missouri. The incidents 
just related induced us to give to this place the name of 
the Council Bluffs : the situation of it is exceedingly 
favorable for a fort and trading factory, as the soil is 
well calculated for bricks, and there is an abundance of 
wood in the neighborhood, and the air being pure and 
healthy." 

Of course the reader Avill recognize, in the name given 
to this place by Lewis and Clark, the flourishing modern 
city of Council Bluffs, Iowa. Nevertheless, as a matter of 
fact, the council took place on the Nebraskan or western 
side of the river, and the meeting-place was at some 
distance above the site of the present city of Council 
Bluffs. 

Above Council Bluffs the explorers found the banks of" 
the river to be high and bluffy, and on one of the high- 
lands which they passed they saw the burial-place af 
Blackbird, one of the great men of the Mahars, or Omahas, 
who had died of small-pox. A mound, twelve feet in 
diameter and six feet high, had been raised over the 



20 First Across the Continent 



grave, and on a tall pole at the summit the party fixed a 
flag of red, white, and blue. The place was regarded as 
sacred by the Omahas, v.'ho kept the dead chieftain well 
supplied with provisions. The small-pox had caused great 
mortality among the Indians ; and a few years before the 
white men's visit, when the fell disease had destroyed four 
hundred men, with a due proportion of women and chil- 
dren, the survivors burned their village and fled. 

" They had been a military and powerful people ; but 
when these warriors saw their strength wasting before a 
malady which they could not resist, their frenzy was 
extreme ; they burned their village, and many of them put 
to death their wives and children, to save them from so 
cruel an affliction, and that all might go together to some 
better country." 

In Omaha, or Mahar Creek, the explorers made their 
first experiment in dragging the stream for fish. With a 
drag of willows, loaded with stones, they succeeded in 
catching a great variety of fine fish, over three hundred at 
one haul, and eight hundred at another. These were pike, 
bass, salmon-trout, catfish, buftalo fish, perch, and a species 
of shrimp, all of which proved a nacceptable addition to 
their usual flesh bill-of-fare. 

Desiring to call in some of the surrounding Indian 
tribes, they here set fire to the dry prairie grass, that 
being the customary signal for a meeting of diflerent 
bands of roving peoples. In the afternoon of August 
1 8, a party of Ottoes, headed by Little Thief and Big 
Horse, came in, with six other chiefs and a French inter- 
preter. The journal says : — 

"We met them under a shade, and after they had fin- 
ished a repast with which we supplied them, we inquired 
into the origin of the war between them and the Mahas, 



From the Lower to the Upper River 21 

which they related with great frankness. It seems that 
two of the Missouris went to the Mahas to steal horses, 
but were detected and killed ; the Ottoes and Missouris 
thought themselves bound to avenge their companions, 
and the whole nations were at last obliged to share in the 
dispute. They are also in fear of a war from the Pawnees, 
whose village they entered this summer, while the inhabit- 
ants were hunting, and stole their corn. This ingenuous 
confession did not make us the less desirous of negotiat- 
ing a peace for them; but no Indians have as yet been 
attracted by our fire. The evening was closed by a 
dance ; and the next day, the chiefs and warriors being 
assembled at ten o'clock, we explained the speech we had 
already sent from the Council Bluffs, and renewed our 
advice. They all replied in turn, and the presents were 
then distributed. We exchanged the small medal we had 
formerly given to the Big Horse for one of the same size 
with that of Little Thief: we also gave a small medal to a 
third chief, and a kind of certificate or letter of acknowl- 
edgment to five of the warriors expressive of our favor 
and their good intentions. One of them, dissatisfied, 
returned us the certificate; but the chief, fearful of our 
being offended, begged that it might be restored to him ; 
this we declined, and rebuked them severely for having in 
view mere traffic instead of peace with their neighbors. 
This displeased them at first ; but they at length all peti- 
tioned that it should be given to the warrior, who then 
came forward and made an apology to us ; we then de- 
livered it to the chief to be given to the most worthy, and 
he bestowed it on the same warrior, whose name was 
Great Blue Eyes. After a more substantial present of 
small articles and tobacco, the council was ended with 
a dram to the Indians. In the evening we exhibited 



22 First Across the Continent 

different objects of curiosity, and particularly the air-gun, 
which gave them great surprise. Those people are almost 
naked, having no covering except a sort of breech-cloth 
round the middle, with a loose blanket or buffalo robe, 
painted, thrown over them. The names of these warriors, 
besides those already mentioned, were Karkapaha, or 
Crow's Head, and Nenasawa, or Black Cat, Missouris ; 
and Sananona, or Iron Eyes, Neswaunja, or Big Ox, Stag- 
eaunja, or Big Blue Eyes, and Wasashaco, or Brave Man, 
all Ottoes." 



Chapter IV 
Novel Experiences among the Indians 

ABOUT this time (the nineteenth and twentieth of 
August), the explorers lost by death the only 
member of their party who did not survive the journey. 
Floyd River, which flows into the Upper Missouri, in the 
northwest corner of Iowa, still marks the last resting-place 
of Sergeant Charles Floyd, who died there of bihous coHc 
and was buried by his comrades near the mouth of the 
stream. Near here was a quarry of red pipestone, dear 
to the Indian fancy as a mine of material for their pipes ; 
traces of this deposit still remain. So fond of this red 
rock were the Indians that when they went there to get 
the stuff, even lifelong and vindictive enemies declared a 
truce while they gathered the material, and savage hostile 
tribes suspended their wars for a time. 

On the north side of the Missouri, at a point in what is 
now known as Clay County, South Dakota, Captains Lewis 
and Clark, with ten men, turned aside to see a great natural 
curiosity, known to the Indians as the Hill of Little Devils. 
The hill is a singular mound in the midst of a flat prairie, 
three hundred yards long, sixty or seventy yards wide, and 
about seventy feet high. The top is a smooth level plain. 
The journal says : — 

" The Indians have made it a great article of their 
superstition: it is called the Mountain of Little People, 
or Little Spirits ; and they believe that it is the abode of 



24 First Across the Continent 

little devils, in the human form, of about eighteen inches 
high, and with remarkably large heads ; they are armed with 
sharp arrows, with which they are very skilful, and are 
always on the watch to kill those who should have the 
hardihood to approach their residence. The tradition is, 
that many have suffered from these little evil spirits, and, 
among others, three Maha Indians fell a sacrifice to them 
a few years since. This has inspired all the neighboring 
nations, Sioux, Mahas, and Ottoes, with such terror, that 
no consideration could tempt them to visit the hill. We 
saw none of these wicked little spirits, nor any place for 
them, except some small holes scattered over the top ; we 
were happy enough to escape their vengeance, though 
we remained some time on the mound to enjoy the de- 
lightful prospect of the plain, which spreads itself out till 
the eye rests upon the northwest hills at a great distance, 
and those of the northeast, still farther off, enlivened by 
large herds of buffalo feeding at a distance." 

The present residents of the region. South Dakota, have 
preserved the Indian tradition, and Spirit Mound may be 
seen on modern maps of that country. 

Passing on their way up the Missouri, the explorers 
found several kinds of delicious wild plums and vast quan- 
tities of grapes ; and here, too, they passed the mouth of 
the Yankton River, now known as the Dakota, at the mouth 
of which is the modern city of Yankton, South Dakota. 
The Yankton-Sioux Indians, numbering about one thou- 
sand people, inhabited this part of the country, and near 
here the white men were met by a large band of these 
Sioux who had come in at the invitation of Lewis and 
Clark. The messengers from the white men reported 
that they had been well received by the Indians, who, as 
a mark of respect, presented their visitors with " a fat dog, 



Novel Experiences among the Indians 25 

already cooked, of which they partook heartily and found 
it well-flavored." From this time, according to the journal, 
the explorers tasted occasionally of roast dog, and later 
on they adopted this dish as a regular feature of their bill- 
of-fare. They do tell us, however, that they had some 
difficulty in getting used to so novel an article of food. 

The Sioux and the white men held a grand council 
under an oak-tree, from the top of which was flying the 
American flag. The head chief was presented with a 
gold-laced uniform of the United States artillery, a cocked 
hat and red feather. The lesser chiefs were also presented 
with suitable gifts of lesser value. Various festivities fol- 
lowed the conference. Next day another powwow was 
held at which the head chief, Weucha, or Shake Hand, 
said : — 

" ' I see before me my great father's two sons. You see 
me and the rest of our chiefs and warriors. We are very 
poor ; we have neither powder, nor ball, nor knives ; and 
our women and children at the village have no clothes. 
I wish that, as my brothers have given me a flag and a 
medal, they would give something to those poor people, 
or let them stop and trade with the first boat which comes 
up the river. I will bring the chiefs of the Pawnees and 
Mahas together, and make peace between them ; but it is 
better that I should do it than my great father's sons, for 
they will listen to me more readily. I will also take some 
chiefs to your country in the spring ; but before that time 
I cannot leave home. I went formerly to the English, and 
they gave me a medal and some clothes : when I went to 
the Spaniards they gave me a medal, but nothing to keep 
it from my skin : but now you give me a medal and clothes. 
But still we are poor ; and I wish, brothers, you would 
give us something for our squaws.' 



26 First Across the Continent 

" When he sat down, Mahtoree, or White Crane, rose : 
" ' I have listened,' said he, ' to what our father's words 
were yesterday; and I am to-day glad to see how you 
have dressed our old chief. I am a young man, and do 
not wish to take much; my fathers have made me a chief; 
I had much sense before, but now I think I have more 
than ever. What the old chief has declared I will confirm, 
and do whatever he and you please ; but I wish that you 
would take pity on us, for we are very poor.' 

"Another chief, called Pawnawneahpahbe, then said: 
" ' I am a young man, and know but little ; I cannot 
speak well, but I have listened to what you have told the 
old chief, and will do whatever you agree.' 

" The same sentiments were then repeated by Avv^eawe- 
chache. 

"We were surprised," the journal says, "at finding that 
the first of these titles means Struck by the Pawnee, and 
was occasioned by some blow which the chief had received 
in battle from one of the Pawnee tribe. The second is in 
English Half Man, which seemed a singular name for a 
warrior, till it was explained to have its origin, probably, 
in the modesty of the chief, who, on being told of his 
exploits, would say, ' I am no warrior, I am only half a 
man.' The other chiefs spoke very little ; but after they 
had finished, one of the warriors delivered a speech, in 
which he declared he would support them. They prom- 
ised to make peace with the Ottoes and Missouris, the 
only nations with whom they are at war. All these ha- 
rangues concluded by describing the distress of the nation : 
they begged us to have pity on them; to send them 
traders ; that they wanted powder and ball ; and seemed 
anxious that we should supply them with some of their 
great father's milk, the name by which they distinguish 

























Before and after Civilization 



Novel Experiences among the Indians 27 

ardent spirits. We gave some tobacco to each of the 
chiefs, and a certificate to two of the warriors who attended 
the chief We prevailed on M. Durion [interpreter] to 
remain here, and accompany as many of the Sioux chiefs 
as he could collect to the seat of government. We also 
gave his son a flag, some clothes, and provisions, with 
directions to bring about a peace between the surrounding 
tribes, and to convey some of their chiefs to see the 
President. 

" The Indians who have just left us are the Yanktons, 
a tribe of the great nation of Sioux. These Yanktons are 
about two hundred men in number, and inhabit the 
Jacques, Des Moines, and Sioux Rivers. In person they 
are stout, well proportioned, and have a certain air of 
dignity and boldness. In their dress they differ nothing 
from the other bands of the nation whom we met 
afterwards." 

Of the Sioux let us say here, there are many bands, or 
subdivisions. Some writers make eighteen of these prin- 
cipal branches. But the first importance is given to the 
Sioux proper, or Dakotas. The name " Sioux " is one of 
reproach, given by their enemies, and signifies " snake ; " 
whereas " Dakota " means " friend " or " ally." The Lewis 
and Clark journal says of the Yankton-Sioux: — 

"What struck us most was an institution peculiar to 
them and to the Kite (Crow) Indians further to the west- 
ward, from whom it is said to have been copied. It is an 
association of the most active and brave young men, who 
are bound to each other by attachment, secured by a vow, 
never to retreat before any danger, or give way to their 
enemies. In war they go forward without sheltering them- 
selves behind trees, or aiding their natural valor by any 
artifice. Their punctilious determination not to be turned 



28 First Across the Continent 

from their course became heroic, or ridiculous, a short 
time since, when the Yanktons were crossing the Missouri 
on the ice. A hole lay immediately in their course, which 
might easily have been avoided by going around. This 
the foremost of the band disdained to do, but went straight 
forward and was lost. The others would have followed 
his example, but were forcibly prevented by the rest of 
the tribe. These young men sit, camp, and dance to- 
gether, distinct from the rest of the nation ; they are gen- 
erally about thirty or thirty-five years old, and such is the 
deference paid to courage that their seats in council are 
superior to those of the chiefs and their persons more 
respected. But, as may be supposed, such indiscreet 
bravery will soon diminish the numbers of those who prac- 
tise it; so that the band is now reduced to four warriors, 
who were among our visitors. These were the remains of 
twenty-two who composed the society not long ago ; but, 
in a battle with the Kite (Crow) Indians of the Black 
Mountains, eighteen of them were killed, and these four 
were dragged from the field by their companions." 

Just above the site of the city of Yankton, and near 
what is still known as Bon Homme Island, Captain Clark 
explored a singular earth formation in a bend of the river. 
This had all the appearance of an ancient fortification, 
stretching across the bend and furnished with redoubts 
and other features of a great fort. In the journal is given 
a glowing account of the work and an elaborate map of 
the same. Modern research, however, has proved that 
this strange arrangement of walls and parapets is only a 
series of sand ridges formed by the currents of the river 
and driftings of sand. Many of these so-called earthworks 
are situated on the west bank of the Upper Missouri, in 
North Dakota and South Dakota. 



Novel Experiences among the Indians 29 

A few days later, the party saw a species of animal which 
they described as " goats," — very fleet, with short pronged 
horns inclining backward, and with grayish hair, marked 
with white on the rump. This creature, however, was the 
American antelope, then unknown to science, and first 
described by Lewis and Clark. While visiting a strange 
dome-shaped mountain, " resembling a cupola," and now 
known as " the Tower," the explorers found the abode of 
another animal, heretofore unknown to them. " About 
four acres of ground," says the journal, " was covered with 
small holes." The account continues : " These are the 
residence of a little animal, called by the French pe^ii 
chien (little dog), which sit erect near the mouth, and 
make a whistling noise, but, when alarmed, take refuge in 
their holes. In order to bring them out we poured into 
one of the holes five barrels of water without filling it, but 
we dislodged and caught the owner. After digging down 
another of the holes for six feet, we found, on running a 
pole into it, that we had not yet dug half-way to the bot- 
tom : we discovered, however, two frogs in the hole, and 
near it we killed a dark rattlesnake, which had swallowed a 
small prairie dog. We were also informed, though we 
never witnessed the fact, that a sort of lizard and a snake 
live habitually with these animals. The petit chieft are 
justly named, as they resemble a small dog in some par- 
ticulars, although they have also some points of similarity 
to the squirrel. The head resembles the squirrel in every 
respect, except that the ear is shorter ; the tail like that of 
the ground squirrel ; the toe nails are long, the fur is fine, 
and the long hair is gray." 

Great confusion has been caused in the minds of read- 
ers on account of there being another burrowing animal, 
called by Lewis and Clark " the burrowing squirrel," which 



30 First Across the Continent 

resembles the petit chien in some respects. But the httle 
animal described here is now well known as the prairie- 
dog, — an unfortunate and misleading name. It is in no 
sense a species of dog. The creature commonly weighs 
about three pounds, and its note resembles that of a toy- 
dog. It is a species of marmot ; it subsists on grass roots 
and other vegetable products; its flesh is delicate and, 
when fat, of good flavor. The writer of these lines, when 
crossing the great plains, in early times, found the " prairie- 
dogs " excellent eating, but difficult to kill ; they are ex- 
pert at diving into their holes at the slightest signal of 
danger. 

The following days they saw large herds of buffalo, and 
the copses of timber appeared to contain elk and deer. 
" Just below Cedar Island," adds the journal, " on a hill to 
the south, is the backbone of a fish, forty-five feet long, 
tapering towards the tail, and in a perfect state of petrifac- 
tion, fragments of which were collected and sent to Wash- 
ington." This was not a fish, but the fossil remains of a 
reptile of one of the earliest geological periods. Here, 
too, the party saw immense herds of buffalo, thousands in 
number, some of which they killed for their meat and 
skins. They also saw elk, deer, turkeys, grouse, beaver, 
and prairie-dogs. The journal bitterly complains of the 
" moschetoes," which were very troublesome. As mosqui- 
toes we now know them. 

Oddly enough, the journal sometimes speaks of " goats " 
and sometimes of " antelopes," and the same animal is 
described in both instances. Here is a good story of the 
fleetness of the beautiful creature : — 

" Of all the animals we had seen, the antelope seems to 
possess the most wonderful fleetness. Shy and timorous, 
they generally repose only on the ridges, which command 



Novel Experiences among the Indians 3 1 

a view of all the approaches of an enemy : the acuteness 
of their sight distinguishes the most distant danger ; the 
delicate sensibility of their smell defeats the precautions of 
concealment ; and, when alarmed, their rapid career seems 
more like the flight of birds than the movements of a 
quadruped. After many unsuccessful attempts. Captain 
Lewis at last, by winding around the ridges, approached a 
party of seven, which were on an eminence towards which 
the wind was unfortunately blowing. The only male of 
the party frequently encircled the summit of the hill, as if 
to announce any danger to the females, which formed a 
group at the top. Although they did not see Captain 
Lewis, the smell alarmed them, and they fled when he was 
at the distance of two hundred yards : he immediately ran 
to the spot where they had been ; a ravine concealed them 
from him ; but the next moment they appeared on a sec- 
ond ridge, at the distance of three miles. He doubted 
whether they could be the same ; but their number, and 
the extreme rapidity with which they continued their 
course, convinced him that they must have gone with a 
speed equal to that of the most distinguished race-horse. 
Among our acquisitions to-day were a mule-deer, a mag- 
pie, a common deer, and buffalo : Captain Lewis also saw 
a hare, and killed a rattlesnake near the burrows of the 
barking squirrels." 

By " barking squirrels " the reader must understand that 
the animal better known as the prairie-dog is meant ; and 
the mule-deer, as the explorers called it, was not a hybrid, 
but a deer with very long ears, better known afterwards as 
" the black-tailed deer." 

At the Big Bend of the Missouri, in the heart of what is 
now South Dakota, while camped on a sand-bar, the ex- 
plorers had a startling experience. " Shortly after mid- 



32 First Across the Continent 

night," says the journal, " the sleepers were startled by the 
sergeant on guard crying out that the sand-bar was sinking, 
and the alarm was timely given ; for scarcely had they got 
off with the boats before the bank under which they had 
been lying fell in ; and by the time the opposite shore was 
reached, the ground on which they had been encamped 
sunk also. A man who was sent to step off the distance 
across the head of the bend, made it but two thousand 
yards, while its circuit is thirty miles." 

The next day, three Sioux boys swam the river and told 
them that two parties of their nation, one of eighty lodges, 
and one of sixty lodges, were camped up the river, waiting 
to have a palaver with the white explorers. These were 
Teton Sioux, and the river named for them still bears that 
title. 



Chapter V 
From the Tetons to the Mandans 

" /'^\^ the morning of September 25th," says the journal, 
V.^ " we raised a flagstaff and an awning, under which 
we assembled, with all the party parading under arms. 
The chiefs and warriors, from the camps two miles up the 
river, met us, about fifty or sixty in number, and after 
smoking we delivered them a speech ; but as our Sioux 
interpreter, M. Durion, had been left with the Yanktons, 
we were obliged to make use of a Frenchman who could 
not speak fluently, and therefore we curtailed our harangue. 
After this we went through the ceremony of acknowledging 
the chiefs, by giving to the grand chief a medal, a flag of 
the United States, a laced uniform coat, a cocked hat and 
feather; to the two other chiefs, a medal and some small 
presents ; and to two warriors of consideration, certificates. 
The name of the great chief is Untongasabaw, or Black 
Buffalo ; the second, Tortohonga, or the Partisan ; the 
third, Tartongawaka, or Buffalo Medicine ; the name of 
one of the warriors was Wawzinggo ; that of the second, 
Matocoquepa, or Second Bear. We then invited the 
chiefs on board, and showed them the boat, the air-gun, 
and such curiosities as we thought might amuse them. In 
this we succeeded too well ; for, after giving them a quarter 
of a glass of whiskey, which they seemed to like very 
much, and sucked the bottle, it was with much difficulty 
that we could get rid of them. They at last accompanied 

3 



34 First Across the Continent 

Captain Clark on shore, in a pirogue with five men; but it 
seems they had formed a design to stop us ; for no sooner 
had the party landed than three of the Indians seized the 
cable of the pirogue, and one of the soldiers of the chief 
put his arms round the mast. The second chief, who af- 
fected intoxication, then said that we should not go on; 
that they had not received presents enough from us. 
Captain Clark told him that he would not be prevented 
from going on ; that we were not squaws, but warriors ; 
that we were sent by our great father, \vho could in a 
moment exterminate them. The chief replied that he too 
had warriors, and was proceeding to offer personal violence 
to Captain Clark, who immediately drew his sword, and 
made a signal to the boat to prepare for action. The 
Indians, who surrounded him, drew their arrows from their 
quivers, and were bending their bows, when the swivel in 
the boat was instantly pointed towards them, and twelve of 
our most determined men jumped into the pirogue and 
joined Captain Clark. This movement made an impression 
on them, for the grand chief ordered the young men away 
from the pirogue, and they withdrew and held a short 
council with the warriors. Being unwilling to irritate them, 
Captain Clark then went forward, and offered his hand to 
the first and second chiefs, who refused to take it. He 
then turned from them and got into the pirogue; but he 
had not got more than ten paces, when both the chiefs and 
two of the warriors waded in after him, and he brought 
them on board. We then proceeded on for a mile, and 
anchored off a willow island, which, from the circum- 
stances which had just occurred, we called Bad-humored 
Island." 

The policy of firmness and gentleness, which Lewis and 
Clark always pursued when treating with the Indians, had 



From the Tetons to the Mandans 35 

its good results at this time. What might have been a 
bloody encounter was averted, and next day the Indians 
contritely came into camp and asked that their squaws and 
children might see the white men and their boats, which 
would be to them a novel sight. This was agreed to, and 
after the expedition had sailed up the river and had been 
duly admired by a great crowd of men, women, and 
children, the Tetons invited the white men to a dance. 
The journal adds : — 

" Captains Lewis and Clark, who went on shore one after 
the other, were met on landing by ten well-dressed young 
men, who took them up in a robe highly decorated and 
carried them to a large council-house, where they were 
placed on a dressed buffalo-skin by the side of the grand 
chief. The hall or council-room was in the shape of three- 
quarters of a circle, covered at the top and sides with skins 
well dressed and sewed together. Under this shelter sat 
about seventy men, forming a circle round the chief, before 
whom were placed a Spanish flag and the one we had given 
them yesterday. This left a vacant circle of about six feet 
diameter, in which the pipe of peace was raised on two 
forked sticks, about six or eight inches from the ground, 
and under it the down of the swan was scattered. A large 
fire, in which they were cooking provisions, stood near, and 
in the centre about four hundred pounds of buffalo meat as 
a present for us. As soon as we were seated, an old man 
got up, and after approving what we had done, begged 
us take pity on their unfortunate situation. To this we re- 
plied with assurances of protection. After he had ceased, 
the great chief rose and delivered a harangue to the same 
effect ; then with great solemnity he took some of the most 
delicate parts of the dog which was cooked for the festival, 
and held it to the flag by way of sacrifice ; this done, he 



36 First Across the Continent 

held up the pipe of peace, and first pointed it toward the 
heavens, then to the four quarters of the globe, then to the 
earth, made a short speech, lighted the pipe, and presented 
it to us. We smoked, and he again harangued his people, 
after which the repast was served up to us. It consisted of 
the dog which they had just been cooking, this being a 
great dish among the Sioux, and used on all festivals ; to 
this were added pemitigon, a dish made of buffalo meat, 
dried or jerked, and then pounded and mixed raw with 
grease and a kind of ground potato, dressed like the 
preparation of Indian corn called hominy, to which it 
is little inferior. Of all these luxuries, which were placed 
before us in platters with horn spoons, we took the pemiti- 
gon and the potato, which we found good, but we could 
as yet partake but sparingly of the dog." 

The " pemitigon " mentioned here is better known as 
pemmican, a sort of dried meat, which may be eaten as 
prepared, or pounded fine and cooked with other articles 
of food. This festival concluded with a grand dance, which 
at midnight wound up the affair. 

As the description of these Tetons, given by Lewis and 
Clark, will give the reader a good idea of the manners, 
customs, and personal appearance of most of the Sioux 
nation, we will copy the journal in full. It is as follows : 

" The tribe which w^e this day saw are a part of the great 
Sioux nation, and are known by the name of the Teton 
Okandandas : they are about two hundred men in number, 
and their chief residence is on both sides of the Missouri, 
between the Chayenne and Teton Rivers. In their persons 
they are rather ugly and ill-made, their legs and arms being 
too small, their cheek-bones high, and their eyes project- 
ing. The females, with the same character of form, are 
more handsome ; and both sexes appear cheerful and 



From the Tetons to the Mandans 37 

sprightly ; but in our intercourse with them we discovered 
that they were cunning and vicious. 

" The men shave the hair off their heads, except a small 
tuft on the top, which they suffer to grow, and wear in 
plaits over the shoulders ; to this they seem much attached, 
as the loss of it is the usual sacrifice at the death of near 
relations. In full dress, the men of consideration wear a 
hawk's feather, or calumet feather worked with porcupine 
quills, and fastened to the top of the head, from which it 
falls back. The face and body are generally painted with 
a mixture of grease and coal. Over the shoulders is a loose 
robe or mantle of buffalo skin dressed white, adorned with 
porcupine quills, loosely fixed, so as to make a jingling 
noise when in motion, and painted with various uncouth 
figures, unintelligible to us, but to them emblematic of 
military exploits or any other incident: the hair of the 
robe is worn next the skin in fair weather, but when it rains 
the hair is put outside, and the robe is either thrown over 
the arm or wrapped round the body, all of which it may 
cover. Under this, in the winter season, they wear a kind 
of shirt resembhng ours, made either of skin or cloth, and 
covering the arms and body. Round the middle is fixed a 
girdle of cloth, or procured dressed elk-skin, about an inch 
in width, and closely tied to the body; to this is attached 
a piece of cloth, or blanket, or skin, about a foot wide, 
which passes between the legs, and is tucked under the 
girdle both before and behind. From the hip to the ankle 
is covered by leggins of dressed antelope skins, with seams 
at the sides two inches in width, and ornamented by little 
tufts of hair, the produce of the scalps they have made in 
war, which are scattered down the leg. The winter moc- 
casins are of dressed buffalo skin, the hair being worn 
inward, and soled with thick elk-skin parchment ; those for 



38 



First Across the Continent 



summer are of deer or elk-skin, dressed without the hair, 
and with soles of elk-skin. On great occasions, or when- 
ever they are in full dress, the young men drag after them 
the entire skin of a polecat fixed to the heel of the mocca- 
sin. Another skin of the same animal, either tucked into 
the girdle or carried in the hand, serves as a pouch for their 
tobacco, or what the French traders call bois roule.^ This 
is the inner bark of a species of red willow, which, being 
dried in the sun or over the fire, is rubbed between the 
hands and broken into small pieces, and used alone or 
mixed with tobacco. The pipe is generally of red earth, 
the stem made of ash, about three or four feet long, and 
highly decorated with feathers, hair, and porcupine-quills. 

" While on shore to-day we witnessed a quarrel between 
two squaws, which appeared to be growing every moment 
more boisterous, when a man came forward, at whose 
approach every one seemed terrified and ran. He took 
the squaws and without any ceremony whipped them 
severely. On inquiring into the nature of such summary 
justice, we learned that this man was an officer well known 
to this and many other tribes. His duty is to keep the 
peace, and the whole interior police of the village is con- 
fided to two or three of these officers, who are named by 
the chief and remain in power some days, at least till the 
chief appoints a successor. They seem to be a sort of 
constable or sentinel, since they are always on the watch 
to keep tranquillity during the day and guard the camp in 
the night. The short duration of the office is compensated 
by its authority. His power is supreme, and in the sup- 

1 This is bois roule, or " rolled wood," a poor kind of tobacco rolled 
with various kinds of leaves, such as the sumach and dogwood. The 
Indian name is kinnikinick. 



From the Tetons to the Mandans 39 

pression of any riot or disturbance no resistance to him is 
suffered ; his person is sacred, and if in the execution of 
his duty he strikes even a chief of the second class, he 
cannot be punished for this salutary insolence. In general 
he accompanies the person of the chief, and when ordered 
to any duty, however dangerous, it is a point of honor 
rather to die than to refuse obedience. Thus, when they 
attempted to stop us yesterday, the chief ordered one of 
these men to take possession of the boat ; he immediately 
put his arms around the mast, and, as we understood, no 
force except the command of the chief would have induced 
him to release his hold. Like the other men his body is 
blackened, but his distinguishing mark is a collection of 
two or three raven-skins fixed to the girdle behind the 
back in such a way that the tails stick out horizontally 
from the body. On his head, too, is a raven-skin split into 
two parts, and tied so as to let the beak project from the 
forehead." 

When the party of explorers subsequently made ready to 
leave, signs of reluctance to have them go were apparent 
among the Indians. Finally, several of the chief warriors 
sat on the rope that held the boat to the shore. Irritated 
by this. Captain Lewis got ready to fire upon the warriors, 
but, anxious to avoid bloodshed, he gave them more 
tobacco, which they wanted, and then said to the chief, 
" You have told us that you were a great man, and have 
influence ; now show your influence by taking the rope 
from those men, and we will then go on without further 
trouble." This appeal to the chieftain's pride had the 
desired effect. The warriors were compelled to give up 
the rope, which was delivered on board, and the party set 
sail with a fresh breeze from the southeast. 

The explorers were soon out of the country of the Teton 



40 First Across the Continent 

Sioux and into that of the Ricaras, or, as these Indians are 
more commonly called, the Rickarees. 

On the first day of October they passed the mouth of a 
river incorrectly known as Dog River, as if corrupted from 
the French word chien. But the true name is Cheyenne, 
from the Indians who bear that title. The stream rises in 
the region called the Black Mountains by Lewis and Clark, 
on account of the great quantity of dark cedar and pine 
trees that covered the hills. This locality is now known as 
the Black Hills, in the midst of which is the famous mining 
district of Deadwood. In these mountains, according to 
Lewis and Clark, were to be found " great quantities of 
goats, white bear, prairie cocks, and a species of animal 
which resembled a small elk, with large circular horns." 
By the "white bear " the reader must understand that the 
grizzly bear is meant. Although this animal, which was 
first discovered and described by Lewis and Clark, is com- 
monly referred to in the earlier pages of the journal as 
** white," the error naturally came from a desire to distin- 
guish it from the black and the cinnamon-colored bears. 
Afterwards, the journal refers to this formidable creature 
as the grizzly, and again as the grisly. Certainly, the 
bear was a grizzled gray ; but the name " grisly," that is to 
say, horrible, or frightful, fitted him very well. The Latin 
name, tirsiis horribilis, is not unlike one of those of Lewis 
and Clark's selection. The animals with circular curled 
horns, which the explorers thought resembled a small elk, 
are now known as the Rocky Mountain sheep, or bighorn. 
They very little resemble sheep, however, except in color, 
head, horns, and feet. They are now so scarce as to be 
almost extinct. They were among the discoveries of 
Lewis and Clark. The prairie cock is known to western 
sportsmen as " prairie chicken ; " it is a species of grouse. 



From the Tetons to the Mandans 41 

It was now early in October, and the weather became 
very cool. So great is the elevation of those regions that, 
although the days might be oppressively warm, the nights 
were cold and white frosts were frequent. Crossing the 
Rocky Mountains at the South Pass, far south of Lewis 
and Clark's route, emigrants who suffered from intense 
heat during the middle of day found water in their pails 
frozen solid in the morning. 

The Rickarees were very curious and inquisitive regard- 
ing the white men. But the journal adds: "The object 
which appeared to astonish the Indians most was Captain 
Clark's servant York, a remarkably stout, strong negro. 
They had never seen a being of that color, and therefore 
flocked round him to examine the extraordinary monster. 
By way of amusement, he told them that he had once 
been a wild animal, and been caught and tamed by his 
master; and to convince them, showed them feats of 
strength which, added to his looks, made him more ter- 
rible than we wished him to be." 

" On October loth," says the journal, " the weather was 
fine, and as we were desirous of assembling the whole 
nation a tonce, we despatched Mr. Gravelines (a trader) — 
who, with Mr. Tabeau, another French trader, had break- 
fasted with us — to invite the chiefs of the two upper 
villages to a conference. They all assembled at one 
o'clock, and after the usual ceremonies we addressed them 
in the same way in which we had already spoken to the 
Ottoes and Sioux. We then made or acknowledged three 
chiefs, one for each of the three villages ; giving to each 
a flag, a medal, a red coat, a cocked hat and feather, also 
some goods, paint and tobacco, which they divided among 
themselves. After this the air-gun was exhibited, very 
much to their astonishment, nor were they less surprised 



42 First Across the Continent 

at the color and manner of York. On our side we were 
equally gratified at discovering that these Ricaras made 
use of no spirituous liquors of any kind, the example of 
the traders who bring it to them, so far from tempting, 
having in fact disgusted them. Supposing that it was as 
agreeable to them as to the other Indians, we had at first 
offered them whiskey ; but they refused it with this sensible 
remark, that they were surprised that their father should 
present to them a liquor which would make them fools. 
On another occasion they observed to Mr. Tabeau that 
no man could be their friend who tried to lead them into 
such follies." 

Presents were exchanged by the Indians and the white 
men ; among the gifts from the former was a quantity of a 
large, rich bean, which grows wild and is collected by 
mice. The Indians hunt for the mice's deposits and cook 
and eat them. The Rickarees had a grand powwow with 
the white chiefs and, after accepting presents, agreed to 
preserve peace with all men, red or white. On the thir- 
teenth of the month the explorers discovered a stream which 
they named Stone-Idol Creek, on account of two stones, 
resembling human figures, which adorn its banks. The 
creek is now known as Spring River, and is in Campbell 
County, South Dakota. Concerning the stone images the 
Indians gave this tradition : — 

" A young man was deeply enamoured with a girl whose 
parents refused their consent to the marriage. The youth 
went out into the fields to mourn his misfortunes ; a sym- 
pathy of feeling led the lady to the same spot, and the 
faithful dog would not cease to follow his master. After 
wandering together and having nothing but grapes to sub- 
sist on, they were at last converted into stone, which, 
beginning at the feet, gradually invaded the nobler parts, 



From the Tetons to the Mandans 43 

leaving nothing unchanged but a bunch of grapes which 
the female holds in her hand to this day. Whenever the 
Ricaras pass these sacred stones, they stop to make some 
offering of dress to propitiate these deities. Such is the 
account given by the Ricara chief, which we had no mode 
of examining, except that we found one part of the story 
very agreeably confirmed ; for on the river near where the 
event is said to have occurred we found a greater abund- 
ance of fine grapes than we had yet seen." 

While at their last camp in the country now known as 
South Dakota, October 14, 1804, one of the soldiers, tried 
by a court-martial for mutinous conduct, was sentenced 
to receive seventy-five lashes on the bare back. The sen- 
tence was carried out then and there. The Rickaree chief, 
who accompanied the party for a time, was so affected by 
the sight that he cried aloud during the whole proceeding. 
When the reasons for the punishment were explained to 
him, he acknowledged the justice of the sentence, but 
said he would have punished the offender with death. 
His people, he added, never whip even their children at 
any age whatever. 

On the eighteenth of October, the party reached Can- 
nonball River, which rises in the Black Hills and empties 
in the Missouri in Morton County, North Dakota. Its 
name is derived from the perfectly round, smooth, black 
stones that line its bed and shores. Here they saw great 
numbers of antelope and herds of buffalo, and of elk. 
They killed six fallow deer; and next day they counted 
fifty-two herds of buffalo and three herds of elk at one 
view ; they also observed deer, wolves, and pelicans in 
large 'numbers. 

The ledges in the bluffs along the river often held nests 
of the calumet bird, or golden eagle. These nests, which 



44 First Across the Continent 

are apparently resorted to, year after year, by the same 
pair of birds, are usually out of reach, except by means of 
ropes by which the hunters are let down from the cliffs 
overhead. The tail-feathers of the bird are twelve in 
number, about a foot long, and are pure white except at 
the tip, which is jet-black. So highly prized are these by 
the Indians that they have been known to exchange a 
good horse for two feathers. 

The party saw here a great many elk, deer, antelope, 
and buffalo, and these last were dogged along their way 
by wolves who follow them to feed upon those that die 
by accident, or are too weak to keep up with the herd. 
Sometimes the wolves would pounce upon a calf, too 
young and feeble to trot with the other buffalo ; and al- 
though the mother made an effort to save her calf, the 
creature was left to the hungry wolves, the herd moving 
along without delay. 

On the twenty-first of October, the explorers reached 
a creek to which the Indians gave the name of Chisshetaw, 
now known as Heart River, which, rising in Stark County, 
North Dakota, and running circuitously through Morton 
County, empties into the Missouri opposite the city of Bis- 
marck. At this point the Northern Pacific Railway now 
crosses the Missouri ; and here, where is built the capital 
of North Dakota, began, in those days, a series of Mandan 
villages, with the people of which the explorers were to 
become tolerably well acquainted ; for it had been decided 
that the increasing cold of the weather would compel them 
to winter in this region. But they were as yet uncertain 
as to the exact locality at which they would build their 
camp of winter. Here they met one of the grand chiefs 
of the Mandans, who was on a hunting excursion with his 
braves. This chief greeted with much ceremony the 



From the Tetons to the Mandans 45 

Rickaree chief who accompanied the exploring party. 
The Mandans and Rickarees were ancient enemies, but, 
following the peaceful councils of the white men, the 
chiefs professed amity and smoked together the pipe of 
peace. A son of the Mandan chief was observed to have 
lost both of his little fingers, and when the strangers asked 
how this happened, they were told that the fingers had 
been cut off (according to the Mandan custom) to show 
the grief of the young man at the loss of some of his 
relations. 



Chapter VI 
Winter among the Mandans 

BEFORE finally selecting the spot on which to build 
their winter quarters, Lewis and Clark held councils 
with the chiefs of the tribes who were to be their neighbors 
during the cold season. These were Mandans, Annaha- 
ways, and Minnetarees, tribes living peacefully in the same 
region of country. The principal Mandan chief was Black 
Cat ; White Buffalo Robe Unfolded represented the Anna- 
haways, and the Minnetaree chief was Black Moccasin. 
This last-named chief could not come to the council, but 
was represented by Caltahcota, or Cherry on a Bush. The 
palaver being over, presents were distributed. The account 
says : — 

" One chief of each town was acknowledged by a gift of 
a flag, a medal with the likeness of the President of the 
United States, a uniform coat, hat and feather. To the 
second chiefs we gave a medal representing some domestic 
animals and a loom for weaving; to the third chiefs, 
medals with the impressions of a farmer sowing grain. A 
variety of other presents were distributed, but none seemed 
to give them more satisfaction than an iron corn-mill which 
we gave to the Mandans. 

•' In the evening the prairie took fire, either by accident 
or design, and burned with great fury, the whole plain 
being enveloped in flames. So rapid was its progress that 




■^^^- -..:rS^^ Mir'':rr-'if ^ 

■ ' ' ?1^-nU ,.V^'''!^''''f'.l'i M 




Black Moccasin 



Winter among the Mandans 47 

a man and a woman were burned to death before they 
could reach a place of safety; another man, with his wife 
and child, were much bljrncd, and several other persons 
narrowly escaped destruction. Among the rest, a boy of 
the half white breed escaped unhurt in the midst of the 
flames ; his safety was ascribed to the great medicine spirit, 
who had preserved him on- account of his being white. 
But a much more natural cause was the presence of mind 
of his mother, who, seeing no hopes of carrying off her 
son, threw him on the ground, and, covering him with the 
fresh hide of a buffalo, escaped herself from the flames. 
As soon as the fire had passed, she returned and found 
him untouched, the skin having prevented the flame from 
reaching the grass on which he lay." 

Next da}% says the journal, — 

" We were visited by two persons from the lower village : 
one, the Big White, the chief of the village ; the other, the 
Chayenne, called the Big Man : they had been hunting, 
and did not return yesterday early enough to attend the 
council. At their request we repeated part of our speech 
of yesterday, and put the medal round the neck of the 
chief. Captain Clark took a pirogue and went up the 
river in search of a good wintering-place, and returned 
after going seven miles to the lower point of an island on 
the north side, about one mile in length. He found the 
banks on the north side high, with coal occasionally, and 
the country fine on all sides ; but the want of wood, and 
the scarcity of game up the river, induced us to decide on 
fixing ourselves lower down during the winter. In the 
evening our men danced among themselves, to the great 
amusement of the Indians." 

It may be said here that the incident of a life saved from 
fire by a raw-hide, originally related by Lewis and Clark, 



48 First Across the Continent 

is the foundation of a great many similar stories of adven- 
tures among the Indians. Usually, however, it is a wise 
and well-seasoned white trapper who saves his hfe by this 
device. 

Having found a good site for their winter camp, the 
explorers now built a number of huts, which they called 
Fort Mandan. The place was on the north bank of the 
I Missouri River, in what is now McLean County, North 
Dakota, about sixteen hundred miles up the river from 
St, Louis, and seven or eight miles below the mouth of 
Big Knife River. On the opposite bank, years later, the 
United States built a military post known as Fort Clark, 
which may be found on some of the present-day maps. 
The huts were built of logs, and were arranged in two 
rows, four rooms in each hut, the whole number being 
placed in the form of an angle, with a stockade, or picket, 
across the two outer ends of the angle, in which was a gate, 
kept locked at night. The roofs of the huts slanted up- 
ward from the inner side of the rows, making the outer 
side of each hut eighteen feet high ; and the lofts of these 
were made warm and comfortable with dry grass mixed 
with clay. Here they were continually visited during the 
winter by Indians from all the region around. Here, too, 
they secured the services of an interpreter, one Chaboneau, 
who continued with them to the end. This man's wife, 
Sacajawea, whose Indian name was translated " Bird 
Woman," had been captured from the Snake Indians and 
sold to Chaboneau, who married her. She was " a good 
creature, of a mild and gentle disposition, greatly attached 
to the whites." In the expedition she proved herself more 
valuable to the explorers than her husband, and Lewis and 
Clark always speak of her in terms of respect ajid admi- 
ration. 



Winter among the Mandans 49 

It should not be understood that all the interpreters 
employed by white men on such expeditions wholly knew 
the spoken language of the tribes among whom they trav- 
elled. To some extent they relied upon the universal lan- 
guage of signs to make themselves understood, and this 
method of talking is known to all sorts and kinds of Indians. 
Thus, two fingers of the right hand placed astraddle the 
wrist of the left hand signifies a man on horseback; and 
the number of men on horseback is quickly added by hold- 
ing up the requisite number of fingers. Sleep is described 
by gently inclining the head on the hand, and the number 
of " sleeps," or nights, is indicated by the fingers. Killed, 
or dead, is described by closed eyes and a sudden fall of 
the head on the talker's chest ; and so on, an easily under- 
stood gesture, with a few Indian words, being sufficient to 
tell a long story very clearly. 

Lewis and Clark discovered here a species of ermine be- 
fore unknown to science. They called it " a weasel, per- 
fectly white except at the extremity of the tail, which was 
black." This animal, highly prized on account of its pretty 
fur, was not scientifically described until as late as 1829. 
It is a species of stoat. 

The wars of some of the Indian tribes gave Lewis and 
Clark much trouble and uneasiness. The Sioux were at 
war with the Minnetarees (Gros Ventres, or Big Bellies); 
and the Assiniboins, who lived further to the north, con- 
tinually harassed the Sioux and the Mandans, treating 
these as the latter did the Rickarees. The white chiefs 
had their hands full all winter while trying to preserve 
peace among these quarrelsome and thieving tribes, their 
favorite game being to steal each other's horses. The 
Indian method of caring for their horses in the cold winter 
was to let them shift for themselves during the day, and 

4 



50 First Across the Continent 

to take them into their own lodges at night where they 
were fed with the juicy, brittle twigs of the cottonwood 
tree. With this spare fodder the animals thrive and keep 
their coats fine and glossy. 

Late in November, a collision between the Sioux and 
the Mandans became almost certain, in consequence of the 
Sioux having attacked a small hunting party of the Man- 
dans, killing one, wounding two, and capturing nine horses. 
Captain Clark mustered and armed twenty-four of his men, 
crossed over into the Mandan village and offered to lead 
the Indians against their enemies. The offer was declined 
on account of the deep snows which prevented a march ; 
but the incident made friends for white men, and the 
tidings of it had a wholesome effect on the other 
tribes. 

" The whole religion of the Mandans," like that of many 
other savage tribes, says the journal, " consists in the 
belief of one Great Spirit presiding over their destinies. 
This Being must be in the nature of a good genius, since 
it is associated with the healing art, and ' great spirit ' is 
synonymous with ' great medicine,' a name applied to 
everything which they do not comprehend. Each indi- 
vidual selects for himself the particular object of his devo- 
tion, which is termed his medicine, and is either some 
invisible being, or more commonly some animal, which 
thenceforward becomes his protector or his intercessor 
with the Great Spirit, to propitiate whom every attention 
is lavished and every personal consideration is sacrificed. 
' I was lately owner of seventeen horses,' said a Mandan to 
us one day, ' but I have offered them all up to my medi- 
cine and am now poor.' He had in reality taken all his 
wealth, his horses, into the plain, and, turning them loose, 
committed them to the care of his medicine and abandoned 



Winter among the Mandans 51 

them forever. The horses, less religious, took care of 
themselves, and the pious votary travelled home on 
foot." 

To this day, all the Northwest Indians speak of anything 
that is highly useful or influential as " great medicine." *- 

One cold December day, a Mandan chief invited the 
explorers to join them in a grand buffalo hunt. The jour- 
nal adds : — 

" Captain Clark with fifteen men went out and found the 
Indians engaged in killing buffalo. The hunters, mounted 
on horseback and armed with bows and arrows, encircle 
the herd and gradually drive them into a plain or an open 
place fit for the movements of horse ; they then ride in 
among them, and singling out a buffalo, a female being 
preferred, go as close as possible and wound her with 
arrows till they think they have given the mortal stroke ; 
when they pursue another, till the quiver is exhausted. If, 
which rarely happens, the wounded buffalo attacks the 
hunter, he evades his blow by the agility of his horse, 
which is trained for the combat with great dexterity. 
When they have killed the requisite number they collect 
their game, and the squaws and attendants come up from 
the rear and skin and dress the animals. Captain Clark 
killed ten buffalo, of which five only were brought to the 
fort; the rest, which could not be conveyed home, being 
seized by the Indians, among whom the custom is that 
whenever a buffalo is found dead without an arrow or any 
particular mark, he is the property of the finder ; so that 
often a hunter secures scarcely any of the game he kills, if 
the arrow happens to fall off." 

The weather now became excessively cold, the mercury 
often going thirty-two degrees below zero. Notwithstand- 
ing this, however, the Indians kept up their outdoor sports, 



52 First Across the Continent 

one favorite game of which resembled billiards. But in- 
stead of a table, the players had an open flooring, about 
fifty yards long, and the balls were rings of stone, shot 
along the flooring by means of sticks like billiard-cues. 
The white men had their sports, and they forbade the 
Indians to visit them on Christmas Day, as this was one 
of their " great medicine days." The American flag was 
hoisted on the fort and saluted with a volley of musketry. 
The men danced among themselves ; their best provisions 
were brought out and " the day passed," says the journal, 
" in great festivity." 

The party also celebrated New Year's Day by similar 
festivities. Sixteen of the men were given leave to go up 
to the first Mandan village with their musical instruments, 
where they delighted the whole tribe with their dances, 
one of the French voyageurs being especially applauded 
when he danced on his hands with his head downwards. 
The dancers and musicians were presented with several 
bufifalo-robes and a large quantity of Indian corn. The 
cold grew more intense, and on the tenth of the month the 
mercury stood at forty degrees below zero. Some of the 
men were badly frost-bitten, and a young Indian, about 
thirteen years old, who had been lost in the snows, came 
into- the fort. The journal says: — 

" His father, who came last night to inquire after him 
very anxiously, had sent him in the afternoon to the fort ; 
he was overtaken by the night, and was obliged to sleep 
on the snow with no covering except a pair of antelope- 
skin moccasins and leggins, and a buffalo-robe. His feet 
being frozen, we put them into cold water, and gave him 
every attention in our power. About the same time an 
Indian who had also been missing returned to the fort. 
Although his dress was very thin, and he had slept on the 



Winter among the Mandans 53 

snow without a fire, he had not suffered the slightest 
inconvenience. We have indeed observed that these In- 
dians support the rigors of the season in a way which we 
had hitherto thought impossible. A more pleasing reflec- 
tion occurred at seeing the warm interest which the situa- 
tion of these two persons had excited in the village. The 
boy had been a prisoner, and adopted from charity ; yet 
the distress of the father proved that he felt for him the 
tenderest affection. The man was a person of no distinc- 
tion, yet the whole village was full of anxiety for his safety ; 
and. when they came to us, borrowed a sleigh to bring 
them home with ease if they had survived, or to carry their 
bodies if they had perished. 

"January 13. Nearly one half of the Mandan nation 
passed down the river to hunt for several days. In these 
excursions, men, women, and children, with their dogs, 
all leave the village together, and, after discovering a spot 
convenient for the game, fix their tents ; all the family 
bear their part in the labor, and the game is equally 
divided among the families of the tribe. When a single 
hunter returns from the chase with more than is necessary 
for his own immediate consumption, the neighbors are 
entitled by custom to a share of it : they do not, however, 
ask for it, but send a squaw, who, without saying anything, 
sits down by the door of the lodge till the master under- 
stands the hint, and gives her gratuitously a part for her 
family." 

By the end of January, 1805, the weather had so far 
moderated that the explorers thought they might cut their 
boats from the ice in the river and prepare to resume their 
voyage ; but the ice being three feet thick, they made no 
progress and were obliged to give up the attempt. Their 



54 First Across the Continent 

stock of meat was low, although they had had good suc- 
cess when the cold was not too severe to prevent them 
from hunting deer, elk, and buffalo. The Mandans, who 
were careless in providing food for future supplies, also 
suffered for want of meat, sometimes going for days with- 
out flesh food. Captain Clark and eighteen men went 
down the river in search of game. The hunters, after 
being out nine days, returned and reported that they had 
killed forty deer, three buffalo, and sixteen elk. But 
much of the game was lean and poor, and the wolves, 
who devour everything left out at night, had stolen a 
quantity of the flesh. Four men, with sleds, were sent 
out to bring into camp the meat, which had been secured 
against wolves by being stored in pens. These men were 
attacked by Sioux, about one hundred in number, who 
robbed them of their game and two of their three horses. 
Captain Lewis, with twenty-four men, accompanied by 
some of the Mandans, set out in pursuit of the marauders. 
They were unsuccessful, however, but, having found a part 
of their game untouched, they brought it back, and this, 
with other game killed after their chase of the Sioux, gave 
them three thousand pounds of meat; they had killed 
thirty-six deer, fourteen elk, and one wolf. 
f By the latter part of February, the party were able to 
get their boats from the ice. These were dragged ashore, 
and the work of making them ready for their next voyage 
was begun. As the ice in the river began to break up, the 
Mandans had great sport chasing across the floating cakes 
of ice the buffalo who were tempted over by the appear- 
ance of green, growing grass on the other side. The 
Indians were very expert in their pursuit of the animals, 
which finally slipped from their insecure footing on the 
drifting ice, and were killed. 



-) . A 






1. A^><f=-^ 







-r .-'-1 A ii-^r!^-^-^' 



f^''^^\ 









Winter among the Mandans 55 

/At this point, April 7, 1805, the escorting party, the 
voyagairsy and one interpreter, returned down the river in 
their barge. This party consisted of thirteen persons, all 
told, and to them were intrusted several packages of 
specimens for President Jefferson, with letters and official 
reports. The presents for Mr. Jefferson, according to the 
journal, " consisted of a stuffed male and female antelope, 
with their skeletons, a weasel, three squirrels from the 
Rocky Mountains, the skeleton of a prairie wolf, those of 
a white and gray hare, a male and female blaireau, 
[badger] or burrowing dog of the prairie, with a skeleton 
of the female, two burrowing squirrels, a white weasel, and 
the skin of the loiiservia [loup-servier, or lynx], the horns 
of a mountain ram, or big-horn, a pair of large elk horns, 
the horns and tail of a black-tailed deer, and a variety of 
skins, such as those of the red fox, white hare, marten, 
yellow bear, obtained from the Sioux ; also a number of 
articles of Indian dress, among which was a buffalo robe 
representing a battle fought about eight years since be- 
tAveen the Sioux and Ricaras against the Mandans and 
Minnetarees, in which the combatants are represented on 
horseback. . . . Such sketches, rude and imperfect as 
they are, delineate the predominant character of the 
savage nations. If they are peaceable and inoffensive, 
the drawings usually consist of local scenery and their 
favorite diversions. If the band are rude and ferocious, 
we observe tomahawks, scalping-knives, bows and arrows, 
and all the engines of destruction. — A Mandan bow, and 
quiver of arrows; also some Ricara tobacco-seed, and 
an ear of Mandan corn : to these were added a box of 
plants, another of insects, and three cases containing a 
burrowing squirrel, a prairie hen, and four magpies, all 
alive." . . . 



56 First Across the Continent 

The articles reached Mr. Jefferson safely and were long 
on view at his Virginia residence, Monticello, They were 
subsequently dispersed, and some found their way to 
Peak's Museum, Philadelphia. Dr. Coues, the zealous 
editor of the latest and fullest edition of Lewis and Clark's 
narrative, says that some of the specimens of natural his- 
tory were probably extant in 1893. 



Chapter VII 
From Fort Mandan to the Yellowstone 

UP to this time, the expedition had passed through 
regions from which vague reports had been brought 
by the few white men who, as hunters and trappers in 
pursuit of fur-bearing game, had dared to venture into 
these trackless wildernesses. Now they were to launch 
out into the mysterious unknown, from which absolutely 
no tidings had ever been brought by white men. The 
dim reports of Indians who had hunted through some 
parts of the region were unreliable, and, as they after- 
wards proved, were often as absurdly false as if they had 
been fairy tales. 

Here, too, they parted from some of their comrades who 
were to return to " the United States," as the explorers 
fondly termed their native country, although the strange 
lands through which they were voyaging were now a part 
of the American Republic. The despatches sent to Wash- 
ington by these men contained the first official report from 
Lewis and Clark since their departure from St. Louis, 
May 1 6, 1803; and they were the last word from the 
explorers until their return in September, 1806. During 
all that long interval, the adventurers were not heard of 
I in the States. No wonder that croakers declared that the 
little party had been cut off to perish miserably in the 
pathless woods that cover the heart of the continent. 

But they set out on the long journey with light hearts. 
In his journal, whose spelling and punctuation are not 



58 First Across the Continent 

always models for the faithful imitation of school-boys, 
Captain Lewis set down this observation : — 
/ " Our vessels consisted of six small canoes, and two large 
yperogues. This little fleet altho' not quite so rispectable 
as those of Columbus or Capt. Cook, were still viewed 
by us with as much pleasure as those deservedly famed 
adventurers ever beheld theirs ; and I dare say with quite 
as much anxiety for their safety and preservation, we were 
now about to penetrate a country at least two thousand 
miles in width, on which the foot of civilized man had 
never trodden ; the good or evil it had in store for us was 
for experiment yet to determine, and these little vessells 
contained every article by which we were to expect to 
subsist or defend ourselves, however as the state of mind 
in which we are, generally gives the colouring to events, 
when the immagination is suffered to wander into futurity, 
the picture which now presented itself to me was a most 
pleasing one. entertaing as I do the most confident hope 
of succeeding in a voyage which had formed a darling 
project of mine for the last ten years, I could but esteem 
this moment of our departure as among the most happy 
of my life." 

The barge sent down the river to St. Louis was in com- 
mand of Corporal Wharfington ; and with him were six 
private soldiers, two French voyagetirs, Joseph Gravelines 
(pilot and interpreter), and Brave Raven, a Ricara (or 
Ankara) chief who was to be escorted to Washington to 
visit the President, The party was also intrusted with 
sundry gifts for the President, among them being natural 
history specimens, living and dead, and a number of 
Indian articles which would be objects of curiosity in 
Washington. 

The long voyage of the main party began on the 8th of 



V 



From Fort Mandan to the Yellowstone 59 

April, 1805, early passing the mouth of the Big Knife 
River, one of the five considerable streams that fall into the 
Missouri from the westward in this region ; the other 
streams are the Owl, the Grand, the Cannonball, and the 
Heart. The large town of Stanton, Mercer County, North 
Dakota, is now situated at the mouth of the Big Knife. 
The passage of the party up the river was slow, owing to 
unfavorable winds ; and they observed along the banks 
many signs of early convulsions of nature. The earth of 
the bluffs was streaked with layers of coal, or carbonized 
wood, and large quantities of lava and pumice-stone were 
strewn around, showing traces of ancient volcanic action. 
The journal of April 9 says : — 

" A great number of brants [snow-geese] pass up the 
river ; some of them are perfectly white, except the large 
feathers of the first joint of the wing, which are black, 
though in every other characteristic they resemble com- 
mon gray brant. We also saw but could not procure 
an animal [gopher] that burrows in the ground, and is 
similar in every respect to the burrowing-squirrel, except 
that it is only one-third of its size. This may be the ani- 
mal whose works we have often seen in the plains and 
prairies; they resemble the labors of the salamander in 
the sand-hills of South Carolina and Georgia, and like him 
the animals rarely come above ground ; they consist of a 
little hillock of ten or twelve pounds of loose ground, 
which would seem to have been reversed from a pot, 
though no aperture is seen through which it could have 
been thrown. On removing gently the earth, you discover 
that the soil has been broken in a circle of about an inch 
and a half diameter, where the ground is looser, though 
still no opening is perceptible. When we stopped for 
dinner the squaw [Sacajawea] went out, and after penetrat- 



6o First Across the Continent 

ing with a sharp stick the holes of the mice [gophers], 
near some drift-wood, brought to us a quantity of wild 
artichokes, which the mice collect and hoard in large num- 
bers. The root is white, of an ovate form, from one to 
three inches long, and generally of the size of a man's 
finger, and two, four, and sometimes six roots are attached 
to a single stalk. Its flavor as well as the stalk which 
issues from it resemble those of the Jerusalem artichoke, 
except that the latter is much larger." 

The weather rapidly grew so warm, although this was 
early in April, that the men worked half-naked during the 
day; and they were very much annoyed by clouds of 
mosquitoes. They found that the hillsides and even the 
banks of the rivers and sand-bars were covered with " a 
white substance, which appears in considerable quantities 
on the surface of the earth, and tastes like a mixture of 
common salt with Glauber's salts." '* Many of the streams," 
the journal adds, " are so strongly impregnated with this 
substance that the water has an unpleasant taste and a 
purgative effect." This is nothing more than the so-called 
alkali which has since become known all over the farthest 
West. It abounds in the regions west of Salt Lake Valley, 
whitening vast areas like snow and poisoning the waters 
so that the traveller often sees the margins of the brown 
pools lined with skeletons and bodies of small animals 
whose thirst had led them to drink the deadly fluid. Men 
and animals suffer from smaller doses of this stufi", which 
is largely a sulphate of soda, and even in small quantities 
is harmful to the system. 

Here, on the twelfth of April, they were able to deter- 
mine the exact course of the Little Missouri, a stream 
about which almost nothing was then known. Near here, 
too, they found the source of the Mouse River, only a few 



From Fort Mandan to the Yellowstone 6i 

miles from the Missouri, The river, bending to the north 
and then making many eccentric curves, finally empties 
into Lake Winnipeg, and so passes into the great chain 
of northern lakes in British America. At this point the 
explorers saw great flocks of the wild Canada goose. The 
journal says : — 

"These geese, we observe, do not build their nests on 
the ground or in the sand-bars, but in the tops of the lofty 
Cottonwood trees. We saw some elk and buffalo to-day, 
but at too great a distance to obtain any of them, though 
a number of the carcasses of the latter animal are strewed 
along the shore, having fallen through the ice and been 
swept along when the river broke up. More bald eagles 
are seen on this part of the Missouri than we have previ- 
ously met with ; the small sparrow-hawk, common in most 
parts of the United States, is also found here. Great 
quantities of geese are feeding on the prairies, and one 
flock of white brant, or geese with black-tipped wings, and 
some gray brant with them, pass up the river ; from their 
flight they seem to proceed much further to the northwest. 
We killed two antelopes, which were very lean, and caught 
last night two beavers." 

Lewis and Clark were laughed at by some very knowing 
people who scouted the idea that wild geese build their 
nests in trees. But later travellers have confirmed their 
story ; the wise geese avoid foxes and other of their four- 
footed enemies by fixing their homes in the tall cotton- 
woods. In other words, they roost high. 

The Assiniboins from the north had lately been on their 
spring hunting expeditions through this region, — just 
above the Little Missouri, — and game was scarce and shy. 
The journal, under the date of April 14, says: — 

" One of the hunters shot at ao otter last evening ; a 



62 First Across the Continent 

buffalo was killed, and an elk, both so poor as to be almost 
unfit for use ; two white [grizzly] bears were also seen, and 
a muskrat swimming across the river. The river continues 
wide and of about the same rapidity as the ordinary current 
of the Ohio. The low grounds are wide, the moister parts 
containing timber ; the upland is extremely broken, with- 
out wood, and in some places seems as if it had slipped 
down in masses of several acres in surface. The mineral 
appearance of salts, coal, and sulphur, with the burnt hill 
and pumice-stone, continue, and a bituminous water about 
the color of strong lye, with the taste of Glauber's salts 
and a shght tincture of alum. Many geese were feeding 
in the prairies, and a number of magpies, which build their 
nests much like those of the blackbird, in trees, and com- 
posed of small sticks, leaves, and grass, open at the top ; 
the egg is of a bluish-brown color, freckled with reddish- 
brown spots. We also killed a large hooting-owl resem- 
bling that of the United States except that it was more 
booted and clad with feathers. On the hills are many 
aromatic herbs, resembling in taste, smell, and appearance 
the sage, hyssop, wormwood, southernwood, juniper, and 
dwarf cedar ; a plant also about two or three feet high, 
similar to the camphor in smell and taste ; and another 
plant of the same size, with a long, narrow, smooth, soft 
leaf, of an agreeable smell and flavor, which is a favorite 
food of the antelope, whose necks are often perfumed by 
rubbing against it." 

What the journalist intended to say here was that at 
least one of the aromatic herbs resembled sage, hyssop, 
wormwood, and southernwood, and that there were junipers 
and dwarf cedars. The pungent-smelling herb was the 
wild sage, now celebrated in stories of adventure as the 
sage-brush. It grows abundantly in the alkah country, 



From Fort Mandan to the Yellowstone 63 

and is browsed upon by a species of grouse known as the 
sage-hen. Junipers and dwarf cedars also grow on the 
hills of the alkali and sage-brush country. The sage be- 
longs to the Artemisia family of plants. 

Four days later, the journal had this interesting entry : 
" The country to-day presented the usual variety of 
highlands interspersed with rich plains. In one of these 
we observed a species of pea bearing a yellow flower, 
which is now in blossom, the leaf and stalk resembling the 
common pea. It seldom rises higher than six inches, and 
the root is perennial. On the rose-bushes we also saw a 
quantity of the hair of a buffalo, which had become per- 
fectly white by exposure and resembled the wool of the 
sheep, except that it was much finer and more soft and 
silky. A buffalo which we killed yesterday had shed his 
long hair, and that which remained was about two inches 
long, thick, fine, and would have furnished five pounds of 
wool, of which we have no doubt an excellent cloth may 
be made. Our game to-day was a beaver, a deer, an elk, 
and some geese. . . . 

" On the hills we observed considerable quantities of 
dwarf juniper, which seldom grows higher than three feet. 
We killed in the course of the day an elk, three geese, and 
a beaver. The beaver on this part of the Missouri are 
in greater quantities, larger and fatter, and their fur is 
more abundant and of a darker color, than any we have 
hitherto seen. Their favorite food seems to be the bark of 
the Cottonwood and willow, as we have seen no other 
species of tree that has been touched by them, and these 
they gnaw to the ground through a diameter of twenty 
inches." 

And on the twenty-first of April the journal says : — 
" Last night there was a hard white frost, and this morn- 



64 First Across the Continent 

ing the weather was cold, but clear and pleasant; in the 
course of the day, however, it became cloudy and the wind 
rose. The country is of the same description as within the 
few last days. We saw immense quantities of buffalo, elk, 
deer, antelopes, geese, and some swans and ducks, out of 
which we procured three deer and four buffalo calves, 
which last are equal in flavor to the most delicious veal ; 
also two beaver and an otter." 

As the party advanced to the westward, following the 
crooked course of the Missouri, they were very much 
afflicted with inflamed eyes, occasioned by the fine, alkaline 
dust that blew so lightly that it sometimes floated for miles, 
hke clouds of smoke. The dust even penetrated the works 
of one of their watches, although it was protected by tight, 
double cases. In these later days, even the double win- 
dows of the railway trains do not keep out this penetrating 
dust, which makes one's skin dry and rough. 

On the twenty-fifth of April, the explorers believed, 
by the signs which they observed, that they must be near 
the great unknown river of which they had dimly heard as 
rising in the rocky passes of the Great Divide and empty- 
ing into the Missouri. Captain Lewis accordingly left the 
party, with four men, and struck off across the country in 
search of the stream. Under the next day's date the 
journal reports the return of Captain Lewis and says: — 

" On leaving us yesterday he pursued his route along the 
foot of the hills, which he descended to the distance of 
eight miles ; from these the wide plains watered by the 
Missouri and the Yellowstone spread themselves before 
the eye, occasionally varied with the wood of the banks, 
enlivened by the irregular windings of the two rivers, and 
animated by vast herds of buffalo, deer, elk, and antelope. 
The confluence of the two rivers was concealed by the 



From Fort Mandan to the Yellowstone 65 

wood, but the Yellowstone itself was only two miles dis- 
tant, to the south. He therefore descended the hills and 
camped on the bank of the river, having killed, as he 
crossed the plain, four buffaloes ; the deer alone are shy 
and retire to the woods, but the elk, antelope, and buffalo 
suffered him to approach them without alarm, and often 
followed him quietly for some distance," 

The famous water-course, first described by Lewis and 
Clark, was named by them the Yellow Stone [^/^r] River. 
Earlier than this, however, the French voyagenrs had 
called the Upper Missouri the Riviere Jaune, or Yellow 
River ; but it is certain that the stream, which rises in 
the Yellowstone National Park, was discovered and named 
by Lewis and Clark. One of the party, Private Joseph 
Fields, was the first white man who ever ascended the 
Yellowstone for any considerable distance. Sent up the 
river by Captains Lewis and Clark, he travelled about 
eight miles, and observed the currents and sand-bars. 
Leaving the mouth of the river, the party went on their 
course along the Missouri. The journal, under date of 
April 27, says : — 

" From the point of junction a wood occupies the space 
between the two rivers, which at the distance of a mile 
come within two hundred and fifty yards of each other. 
There a beautiful low plain commences, widening as the 
rivers recede, and extends along each of them for several 
miles, rising about half a mile from the Missouri into a 
plain twelve feet higher than itself. The low plain is a 
few inches above high water mark, and where it joins the 
higher plain there is a channel of sixty or seventy yards in 
width, through which a part of the Missouri, when at its 
greatest height, passes into the Yellowstone, 



66 First Across the Continent 

" The northwest wind rose so high at eleven o'clock that 
we were obliged to stop till about four in the afternoon, 
when we proceeded till dusk. On the south a beautiful 
plain separates the two rivers, till at about six miles there 
is a piece of low timbered ground, and a little above it 
bluffs, where the country rises gradually from the river: 
the situations on the north are more high and open. We 
encamped on that side, the wind, the sand which it raised, 
and the rapidity of the current having prevented our 
advancing more than eight miles; during the latter part 
of the day the river became wider, and crowded with 
sand-bars. The game was in such plenty that we killed 
only what was necessary for our subsistence. For several 
days past we have seen great numbers of buffalo lying dead 
along the shore, some of them partly devoured by the 
wolves. They have either sunk through the ice during 
the winter, or been drowned in attempting to cross ; or 
else, after crossing to some high bluff, have found them- 
selves too much exhausted either to ascend or swim back 
again, and perished for want of food : in this situation we 
found several small parties of them. There are geese, too, 
in abundance, and more bald eagles than we have hitherto 
observed ; the nests of these last being always accom- 
panied by those of two or three magpies, who are their 
inseparable attendants." 



Chapter VIII 
In the Hatints of Grizzlies and Buffalo 

GAME, which had been somewhat scarce after leav- 
ing the Yellowstone, became more plentiful as 
they passed on to the westward, still following the wind- 
ing course of the Missouri. Much of the time, baffling 
winds and the crookedness of the stream made sailing 
impossible, and the boats were towed by men walking 
along the banks. 

Even this was sometimes difficult, on account of the 
rocky ledges that beset the shores, and sharp stones that 
lay in the path of the towing parties. On the twenty- 
eighth of April, however, having a favorable wind, the 
party made twenty-eight miles with their sails, which 
was reckoned a good day's journey. On that day the 
journal records that game had again become very abun- 
dant, deer of various kinds, elk, buffalo, antelope, bear, 
beaver, and geese being numerous. The beaver, it was 
found, had wrought much damage by gnawing down 
trees; some of these, not less than three feet in diameter, 
had been gnawed clean through by the beaver. On the 
following day the journal has this record: — 

"We proceeded early, with a moderate wind. Captain 
Lewis, who was on shore with one hunter, met, about 
eight o'clock, two white [grizzly] bears. Of the strength 
and ferocity of this animal the Indians had given us 
dreadful accounts. They never attack him but in parties 
of six or eight persons, and even then are often defeated 



68 First Across the Continent 

with a loss of one or more of their party. Having no 
weapons but bows and arrows, and the bad guns with 
which the traders supply them, they are obliged to 
approach very near to the bear; as no wound except 
through the head or heart is mortal, they frequently fall 
a sacrifice if they miss their aim. He rather attacks 
than avoids a man, and such is the terror which he has 
inspired, that the Indians who go in quest of him paint 
themselves and perform all the superstitious rites cus- 
tomary when they make war on a neighboring nation. 
Hitherto, those bears we had seen did not appear de- 
sirous of encountering us; but although to a skilful 
rifleman the danger is very much diminished, yet the 
white bear is still a terrible animal. On approaching 
these two, both Captain Lewis and the hunter fired, and 
each wounded a bear. One of them made his escape; 
the other turned upon Captain Lewis and pursued him 
seventy or eighty yards, but being badly wounded the 
bear could not run so fast as to prevent him from reload- 
ing his piece, which he again aimed at him, and a third 
shot from the hunter brought him to the ground. He 
was a male, not quite full grown, and weighed about 
three hundred pounds. The legs are somewhat longer 
than those of the black bear, and the talons and tusks 
much larger and longer. Its color is a yellowish-brown; 
the eyes are small, black, and piercing ; the front of the 
fore legs near the feet is usually black, and the fur is 
finer, thicker, and deeper than that of the black bear. 
Add to which, it is a more furious animal, and very 
remarkable for the wounds which it will bear without 
dying." 

Next day, the hunter killed the largest elk which they 
had ever seen. It stood five feet three inches high from 



In the Haunts of Grizzlies and Buffalo 69 

hoof to shoulder. Antelopes were also numerous, but 
lean, and not very good for food. Of the antelope the 
journal says : — 

"These fleet and quick-sighted animals are generally 
the victims of their curiosity. When they first see the 
hunters, they run with great velocity; if he lies down 
on the ground, and lifts up his arm, his hat, or his foot, 
they return with a light trot to look at the object, and 
sometimes go and return two or three times, till they 
approach within reach of the rifle. So, too, they some- 
times leave their flock to go and look at the wolves, 
which crouch down, and, if the antelope is frightened at 
first, repeat the same manoeuvre, and sometimes relieve 
each other, till they decoy it from the party, when they 
seize it. But, generally, the wolves take them as they 
are crossing the rivers; for, although swift on foot, 
they are not good swimmers." 

Later wayfarers across the plains were wont to beguile 
the antelope by fastening a bright-colored handkerchief 
to a ramrod stuck in the ground. The patient hunter 
was certain to be rewarded by the antelope coming within 
range of his rifle; for, unless scared off by some inter- 
ference, the herd, after galloping around and around and 
much zigzagging, would certainly seek to gratify their 
curiosity by gradually circling nearer and nearer the 
strange object until a deadly shot or two sent havoc into 
their ranks. 

May came on cold and windy, and on the second of the 
month, the journal records that snow fell to the depth 
of an inch, contrasting strangely with the advanced 
vegetation. 

"Our game to-day," proceeds the journal, "were deer, 
elk, and buffalo: we also procured three beaver. They 



7© First Across the Continent 

were here quite gentle, as they have not been hunted; 
but when the hunters are in pursuit, they never leave 
their huts during the day. This animal we esteem a 
great delicacy, particularly the tail, which, when boiled, 
resembles in flavor the fresh tongues and sounds of the 
codfish, and is generally so large as to afford a plentiful 
meal for two men. One of the hunters, in passing near 
an old Indian camp, found several yards of scarlet cloth 
suspended on the bough of a tree, as a sacrifice to the 
deity, by the Assiniboins; the custom of making these 
offerings being common among that people, as, indeed, 
among all the Indians on the Missouri. The air was 
sharp this evening; the water froze on the oars as we 
rowed. " 

The Assiniboin custom of sacrificing to their deity, 
or "great medicine," the article which they most value 
themselves, is not by any means peculiar to that tribe, 
nor to the Indian race. 

An unusual number of porcupines were seen along 
here, and these creatures were so free from wildness that 
they fed on, undisturbed, while the explorers walked 
around and among them. The captains named a bold 
and beautiful stream, which here entered the Missouri 
from the north, — Porcupine River; but modern geog- 
raphy calls the water-course Poplar River; at the mouth 
of the river, in Montana, is now the Poplar River Indian 
Agency and military post. The waters of this stream, 
the explorers found, were clear and transparent, — an ex- 
ception to all the streams, which, discharging into the 
Missouri, give it its name of the Big Muddy. The 
journal adds: — 

"A quarter of a mile beyond this river a creek falls in 
on the south, to which, on account of its distance from 



y 
a 

A 

< 



/ 1 


^:^ 


- 




'■ ^- 







In the Haunts of Grizzlies and Buffalo 71 

the mouth of the Missouri, we gave the name of Two- 
thousand-mile creek. It is a bold stream with a bed 
thirty yards wide. At three and one-half miles above 
Porcupine River, we reached some high timber on the 
north, and camped just above an old channel of the river, 
which is now dry. We saw vast quantities of buffalo, 
elk, deer, — principally of the long-tailed kind, — ante- 
lope, beaver, geese, ducks, brant, and some swan. The 
porcupines too are numerous, and so careless and clumsy 
that we can approach very near without disturbing them, 
as they are feeding on the young willows. Toward even- 
ing we also found for the first time the nest of a goose 
among some driftwood, all that we had hitherto seen 
being on the top of a broken tree on the forks, invariably 
from fifteen to twenty or more feet in height." 

"Next day," May 4, says the journal, "we passed some 
old Indian hunting-camps, one of which consisted of two 
large lodges, fortified with a circular fence twenty or 
thirty feet in diameter, made of timber laid horizontally, 
the beams overlying each other to the height of five 
feet, and covered with the trunks and limbs of trees that 
have drifted down the river. The lodges themselves are 
formed by three or more strong sticks about the size of a 
man's leg or arm and twelve feet long, which are attached 
at the top by a withe of small willows, and spread out so 
as to form at the base a circle of ten to fourteen feet in 
diameter. Against these are placed pieces of driftwood 
and fallen timber, usually in three ranges, one on the 
other ; the interstices are covered with leaves, bark, and 
straw, so as to form a conical figure about ten feet high, 
with a small aperture in one side for the door. It is, 
however, at best a very imperfect shelter against the 
inclemencies of the seasons^" 



72 First Across the Continent 

Wolves were very abundant along the route of the 
explorers, the most numerous species being the common 
kind, now known as the coyote (pronounced kyote), and 
named by science the canis latrans. These animals are 
cowardly and sly creatures, of an intermediate size be- 
tween the fox and dog, very delicately formed, fleet and 
active. 

"The ears are large, erect, and pointed; the head is 
long and pointed, like that of the fox; the tail long and 
bushy; the hair and fur are of a pale reddish-brown color, 
though much coarser than that of the fox ; the eye is of 
a deep sea-green color, small and piercing; the talons 
are rather longer than those of the wolf of the Atlantic 
States, which animal, as far as we can perceive, is not 
to be found on this side of the Platte. These wolves 
usually associate in bands of ten or twelve, and are 
rarely, if ever, seen alone, not being able, singly, to 
attack a deer or antelope. They live and rear their 
young in burrows, which they fix near some pass or spot 
much frequented by game, and sally out in a body against 
any animal which they think they can overpower; but on 
the slightest alarm retreat to their burrows, making a 
noise exactly like that of a small dog. 

"A second species is lower, shorter in the legs, and 
thicker than the Atlantic wolf; the color, which is not 
affected by the seasons, is of every variety of shade, from 
a gray or blackish-brown to a cream-colored white. They 
do not burrow, nor do they bark, but howl ; they frequent 
the woods and plains, and skulk along the skirts of the 
buffalo herds, in order to attack the weary or wounded." 

Under date of May 5, the journal has an interesting 
story of an encounter with a grizzly bear, which, by way 
of variety, is here called "brown," instead of "white." 



In the Haunts of Grizzlies and Buffalo j^ 

It is noticeable that the explorers dwelt with much 
minuteness upon the peculiar characteristics of the 
grizzly; this is natural enough when we consider that 
they were the first white men to form an intimate 
acquaintance with "Ursus horribilis." The account 
says : — 

"Captain Clark and one of the hunters met, this even- 
ing, the largest brown bear we have seen. As they fired 
he did not attempt to attack, but fled with a most tremen- 
dous roar; and such was his extraordinary tenacity of 
life, that, although he had five balls passed through his 
lungs, and five other wounds, he swam more than half 
across the river to a sand-bar, and survived twenty 
minutes. He weighed between five and six hundred 
pounds at least, and measured eight feet seven inches 
and a half from the nose to the extremity of the hind 
feet, five feet ten inches and a half round the breast, 
three feet eleven inches round the neck, one foot eleven 
inches round the middle of the fore leg, and his claws, 
five on each foot, were four inches and three-eighths in 
length. This animal differs from the common black bear 
in having his claws much longer and more blunt; his tail 
shorter; his hair of a reddish or bay brown, longer, finer, 
and more abundant; his liver, lungs, and heart much 
larger even in proportion to his size, the heart, particu- 
larly, being equal to that of a large ox; and his maw ten 
times larger. Besides fish and flesh, he feeds on roots 
and every kind of wild fruit." 

On May 8 the party discovered the largest and most im- 
portant of the northern tributaries of the Upper Missouri. 
The journal thus describes the stream: — 

" Its width at the entrance is one hundred and fifty 
yards; on going three miles up. Captain Lewis found it 



74 First Across the Continent 

to be of the same breadth and sometimes more; it is 
deep, gentle, and has a large quantity of water; its bed 
is principally of mud ; the banks are abrupt, about twelve 
feet in height, and formed of a dark, rich loam and blue 
clay; the low grounds near it are wide and fertile, and 
possess a considerable proportion of cottonwood and wil- 
low. It seems to be navigable for boats and canoes ; by 
this circumstance, joined to its course and quantity of 
water, which indicates that it passes through a large 
extent of country, we are led to presume that it may 
approach the Saskaskawan [Saskatchewan] and afford a 
communication with that river. The water has a pecu- 
liar whiteness, such as might be produced by a table- 
spoonful of milk in a dish of tea, and this circumstance 
induced us to call it Milk River." 

Modern geography shows that the surmise of Captain 
Lewis was correct. Some of the tributaries of Milk 
River (the Indian name of which signifies "The River 
that Scolds at all Others ") have their rise near St. 
Mary's River, which is one of the tributaries of the 
Saskatchewan, in British America. 

The explorers were surprised to find the bed of a dry 
river, as deep and as wide as the Missouri itself, about 
fifteen miles above Milk River. Although it had every 
appearance of a water-course, it did not discharge a drop 
of water. Their journal says : — 

"It passes through a wide valley without timber; the 
surrounding country consists of waving low hills, inter- 
spersed with some handsome level plains; the banks are 
abrupt, and consist of a black or yellow clay, or of a 
rich sandy loam ; though they do not rise more than six 
or eight feet above the bed, they exhibit no appearance 
of being overflowed; the bed is entirely composed of a 



In the Haunts of Grizzlies and Buffalo 75 

light brown sand, the particles of which, like those of 
the Missouri, are extremely fine. Like the dry rivers we 
passed before, this seemed to have discharged its waters 
recently, but the watermark indicated that its greatest 
depth had not been more than two feet. This stream, 
if it deserve the name, we called Bigdry [Big Dry] 
River." 

And Big Dry it remains on the maps unto this day. In 
this region the party recorded this observation : — 

"The game is now in great quantities, particularly the 
elk and buffalo, which last is so gentle that the men are 
obliged to drive them out of the way with sticks and 
stones. The ravages of the beaver are very apparent ; in 
one place the timber was entirely prostrated for a space 
of three acres in front on the river and one in depth, and 
great part of it removed, though the trees v;ere in large 
quantities, and some of them as thick as the body of a 
man." 

Yet so great have been the ravages of man among these 
gentle creatures, that elk are now very rarely found in 
the region, and the buffalo have almost utterly dis- 
appeared from the face of the earth. Just after the 
opening of the Northern Pacific Railway, in 1883, a 
band of sixty buffaloes were heard of, far to the south- 
ward of Bismarck, and a party was organized to hunt 
them. The bold hunters afterwards boasted that they 
killed every one of this little band of survivors of their 
race. 

The men were now (in the middle of May) greatly 
troubled with boils, abscesses, and inflamed eyes, caused 
by the poison of the alkali that covered much of the 
ground and corrupted the water. Here is an entry in the 
journal of May 11: — 



76 First Across the Continent 

" About five in the afternoon one of our men [Bratton], 
who had been afflicted with boils and suffered to walk on 
shore, came running to the boats with loud cries, and 
every symptom of terror and distress. For some time 
after we had taken him on board he was so much out of 
breath as to be unable to describe the cause of his anxi- 
ety; but he at length told us that about a mile and a 
half below he had shot a brown bear, which immediately 
turned and was in close pursuit of him; but the bear 
being badly wounded could not overtake him. Captain 
Lewis, with seven men, immediately went in search of 
him; having found his track they followed him by the 
blood for a mile, found him concealed in some thick 
brushwood, and shot him with two balls through the 
skull. Though somewhat smaller than that killed a few 
days ago, he was a monstrous animal, and a most terrible 
enemy. Our man had shot him through the centre of 
the lungs; yet he had pursued him furiously for half a 
mile, then returned more than twice that distance, and 
with his talons prepared himself a bed in the earth two 
feet deep and five feet long; he was perfectly alive when 
they found him, which was at least two hours after he 
had received the wound. The wonderful power of life 
which these animals possess renders them dreadful ; their 
very track in the mud or sand, which we have sometimes 
found eleven inches long and seven and one-fourth wide, 
exclusive of the talons, is alarming; and we had rather 
encounter two Indians than meet a single brown bear. 
There is no chance of killing them by a single shot 
unless the ball goes through the brain, and this is very 
difficult on account of two large muscles which cover the 
side of the forehead and the sharp projection of the centre 
of the frontal bone, which is also thick. 



In the Haunts of Grizzlies and Buffalo y^j 

" Our camp was on the south, at the distance of sixteen 
miles from that of last night. The fleece and skin of 
the bear were a heavy burden for two men, and the oil 
amounted to eight gallons." 

The name of the badly-scared Bratton was bestowed 
upon a creek which discharges into the Missouri near 
the scene of this encounter. Game continued to be very 
abundant. On the fourteenth, according to the journal, 
the hunters were hunted, to their great discomfiture. 
The account says : — 

"Toward evening the men in the hindmost canoes dis- 
covered a large brown [grizzly] bear lying in the open 
grounds, about three hundred paces from the river. Six 
of them, all good hunters, immediately went to attack 
him, and concealing themselves by a small eminence 
came unperceived within forty paces of him. Four of 
the hunters now fired, and each lodged a ball in his 
body, two of them directly through the lungs. The 
furious animal sprang up and ran open-mouthed upon 
them. 

" As he came near, the two hunters who had reserved 
their fire gave him two wounds, one of which, breaking 
his shoulder, retarded his motion for a moment; but 
before they could reload he was so near that they were 
obliged to run to the river, and before they had reached 
it he had almost overtaken them. Two jumped into the 
canoe; the other four separated, and, concealing them- 
selves in the willows, fired as fast as they could reload. 
They struck him several times, but, instead of weakening 
the monster, each shot seemed only to direct him towards 
the hunters, till at last he pursued two of them so closely 
that they threw aside their guns and pouches, and jumped 
down a perpendicular bank of twenty feet into the river : 



78 First Across the Continent 

the bear sprang after them, and was within a few feet of 
the hindmost, when one of the hunters on shore shot him 
in the head, and finally killed him. They dragged him 
to the shore, and found that eight balls had passed 
through him in different directions. The bear was old, 
and the meat tough, so that they took the skin only, and 
rejoined us at camp, where we had been as much terrified 
by an accident of a different kind. 

" This was the narrow escape of one of our canoes, 
containing all our papers, instruments, medicine, and 
almost every article indispensable for the success of our 
enterprise. The canoe being under sail, a sudden squall 
of wind struck her obliquely and turned her considerably. 
The man at the helm, who was unluckily the worst steers- 
man of the party, became alarmed, and, instead of put- 
ting her before the wind, luffed her up into it. The 
wind was so high that it forced the brace of the square- 
sail out of the hand of the man who was attending it, and 
instantly upset the canoe, which would have been turned 
bottom upward but for the resistance made by the awning. 
Such was the confusion on board, and the waves ran so 
high, that it was half a minute before she righted, and 
then nearly full of water, but by bailing her out she was 
kept from sinking until they rowed ashore. Besides the 
loss of the lives of three men, who, not being able to 
swim, would probably have perished, we should have 
been deprived of nearly everything necessary for our 
purposes, at a distance of between two and three thou- 
sand miles from any place where we could supply the 
deficiency." 

Fortunately, there was no great loss from this accident, 
which was caused by the clumsiness and timidity of the 
steersman, Chaboneau. Captain Lewis's account of the 



In the Haunts of Grizzlies and Buffalo 79 

incident records that the conduct of Chaboneau's wife, 
Sacajawea, was better than that of her cowardly husband. 
He says : — 

"The Indian woman, to whom I ascribe equal fortitude 
and resolution with any person on board at the time of 
the accident, caught and preserved most of the light 
articles which were washed overboard." 



Chapter IX 
In the Solitudes of the Upper Missouri 

UNDER date of May 17, the journal of the party has 
the following interesting entries : — 
"We set out early and proceeded on very well; the 
banks being firm and the shore bold, we were enabled to 
use the towline, which, whenever the banks will permit it, 
is the safest and most expeditious mode of ascending the 
river, except under sail with a steady breeze. At the dis- 
tance of ten and one-half miles we came to the mouth of a 
small creek on the south, below which the hills approach 
the river, and continue near it during the day. Three miles 
further is a large creek on the north ; and again, six and 
three-quarters miles beyond this, is another large creek, to 
the south ; both containing a small quantity of running 
water, of a brackish taste. The last we called Rattlesnake 
Creek, from our seeing that animal near it. Although no 
timber can be observed on it from the Missouri, it throws 
out large quantities of driftwood, among which were some 
pieces of coal brought down by the stream. 

" The game is in great quantities, but the buffalo are not 
so numerous as they were some days ago ; two rattlesnakes 
were seen to-day, and one of them was killed. It resembles 
those of the Middle Atlantic States, being about thirty 
inches long, of a yellowish brown on the back and sides, 
variegated with a row of oval dark brown spots lying 
transversely on the back from the neck to the tail, and two 



In the Solitudes of the Upper Missouri 8 1 

other rows of circular spots of the same color on the sides 
along the edge of the scuta ; there are one hundred and 
seventy-six scuta on the belly, and seventeen on the tail." 

Two days later, the journal records that one of the party 
killed a grizzly bear, " which, though shot through the heart, 
ran at his usual pace nearly a quarter of a mile before he 
fell." 

The mouth of the Musselshell River, which was one of 
the notable points that marked another stage in the jour- 
ney, was reached on the twentieth of May. This stream 
empties into the Missouri two thousand two hundred and 
seventy miles above its mouth, and is still known by the 
name given it by its discoverers. The journal says: 

" It is one hundred and ten yards wide, and contains 
more water than streams of that size usually do in this 
country ; its current is by no means rapid, and there is 
every appearance of its being susceptible of navigation by 
canoes for a considerable distance. Its bed is chiefly formed 
of coarse sand and gravel, with an occasional mixture of 
black mud ; the banks are abrupt and nearly twelve feet 
high, so that they are secure from being overflowed ; the 
water is of a greenish-yellow cast, and much more trans- 
parent than that of the Missouri, which itself, though 
clearer than below, still retains its whitish hue and a por- 
tion of its sediment. Opposite the point of junction the 
current of the Missouri is gentle, and two hundred and 
twenty-two yards in width ; the bed is principally of mud, 
the little sand remaining being wholly confined to the points, 
and the water is still too deep to use the setting-pole. 

" If this be, as we suppose, the Musselshell, our Indian 
information is that it rises in the first chain of the Rocky 
mountains not far from the sources of the Yellowstone, 
whence in its course to this place it waters a high broken 

6 



82 First Across the Continent 

country, well timbered, particularly on its borders, and in- 
terspersed with handsome fertile plains and meadows. We 
have reason, however, to believe, from their giving a simi- 
lar account of the timber where we now are, that the 
timber of which they speak is similar to that which we 
have seen for a few days past, which consists of nothing 
more than a few straggling small pines and dwarf cedars 
on the summits of the hills, nine-tenths of the ground being 
totally destitute of wood, and covered with short grass, 
aromatic herbs, and an immense quantity of prickly-pear ; 
though the party who explored it for eight miles repre- 
sented the low grounds on the river to be well supplied 
with Cottonwood of a tolerable size, and of an excellent 
soil. They also report that the country is broken and 
irregular, like that near our camp ; and that about five 
miles up, a handsome river, about fifty yards wide, which 
we named after Chaboneau's wife, Sacajawea's or the Bird- 
woman's River, discharges into the Musselshell on the north 
or upper side." 

Later explorations have shown that the Musselshell rises 
in the Little Belt Mountains, considerably to the north of 
the sources of the Yellowstone. Modern geography has 
also taken from the good Sacajawea the honor of having 
her name bestowed on one of the branches of the Mussel- 
shell. The stream once named for her is now known as 
Crooked Creek : it joins the river near its mouth, in the 
central portion of Montana. The journal, under date of 
May 22, has this entry: — 

" The river [the Missouri] continues about two hundred 
and fifty yards wide, with fewer sand-bars, and the current 
more gentle and regular. Game is no longer in such 
abundance since leaving the Musselshell. We have caught 
very few fish on this side of the Mandans, and these were 



In the Solitudes of the Upper Missouri 83 

the white catfish, of two to five pounds. We killed a deer 
and a bear. We have not seen in this quarter the black 
bear, common in the United States and on the lower parts 
of the Missouri, nor have we discerned any of their tracks. 
They may easily be distinguished by the shortness of the 
talons from the brown, grizzly, or white bear, all of which 
seem to be of the same species, which assumes those colors 
at different seasons of the year. We halted earlier than 
usual, and camped on the north, in a point of woods, at 
the distance of sixteen and one half miles [thus past the 
site of Fort Hawley, on the south]." 

Notwithstanding the advance of the season, the weather 
in those great altitudes grew more and more cold. Under 
date of May 23, the journal records the fact that ice ap- 
peared along the edges of the river, and water froze upon 
their oars. But notwithstanding the coolness of the nights 
and mornings, mosquitoes were very troublesome. 

The explorers judged that the cold was somewhat unusual 
for that locality, inasmuch as the cottonwood trees lost 
their leaves by the frost, showing that vegetation, generally 
well suited to the temperature of its country, or habitat, 
had been caught by an unusual nip of the frost. The ex- 
plorers noticed that the air of those highlands was so pure 
and clear that objects appeared to be much nearer than 
they really were. A man who was sent out to explore the 
country attempted to reach a ridge (now known as the 
Little Rocky Mountains), apparently about fifteen miles 
from the river. He travelled about ten miles, but finding 
himself not halfway to the object of his search, he returned 
without reaching it. 

The party was now just westward of the site of the pres- 
ent town of Carroll, Montana, on the Missouri. Their 
journal says : — 



84 First Across the Continent 

" The low grounds are narrow and without timber ; the 
country is high and broken ; a large portion of black rock 
and brown sandy rock appears in the face of the hills, the 
tops of which are covered with scattered pine, spruce, and 
dwarf cedar ; the soil is generally poor, sandy near the tops 
of the hills, and nowhere producing much grass, the low 
grounds being covered with little else than the hyssop, or 
southernwood, and the pulpy-leaved thorn. Game is more 
scarce, particularly beaver, of which we have seen but few 
for several days, and the abundance or scarcity of which 
seems to depend on the greater or less quantity of timber. 
At twenty-four and one-half miles we reached a point of 
woodland on the south, where we observed that the trees 
had no leaves, and camped for the night." 

The " hyssop, or southernwood," the reader now knows 
to be the wild sage, or sage-brush. The " pulpy-leaved 
thorn " mentioned in the journal is the greasewood ; and 
both of these shrubs flourish in the poverty-stricken, sandy, 
alkaline soil of the far West and Northwest. The woody 
fibre of these furnished the only fuel available for early 
overland emigrants to the Pacific. 

The character of this country now changed considerably 
as the explorers turned to the northward, in their crooked 
course, with the river. On the twenty-fifth of May the 
journal records this : — 

" The country on each side is high, broken, and rocky ; 
the rock being either a soft brown sandstone, covered with 
a thin stratum of limestone, or else a hard, black, rugged 
granite, both usually in horizontal strata, and the sand-rock 
overlaying the other. Salts and quartz, as well as some 
coal and pumice-stone, still appear. The bars of the river 
are composed principally of gravel ; the river low grounds 
are narrow, and afford scarcely any timber; nor is there 



In the Solitudes of the Upper Missouri 85 

much pine on the hills. The buffalo have now become 
scarce; we saw a polecat [skunk] this evening, which was 
the first for several days; in the course of the day we also 
saw several herds of the bighorned animals among the 
steep cliffs on the north, and killed several of them." 

The bighorned animals, the first of which were killed 
here, were sometimes called " Rocky Mountain sheep." 
But sheep they were not, bearing hair and not wool. As 
we have said, they are now more commonly known as 
bighorns. 

The patience of the explorers was rewarded, on Sunday, 
May 26, 1806, by their first view of the Rocky Mountains. 
Here is the journal's record on that date : — 

" It was here [Cow Creek, Mont.] that, after ascending 
the highest summit of the hills on the north side of the 
river. Captain Lewis first caught a distant view of the Rock 
mountains — the object of all our hopes, and the reward of 
all our ambition. On both sides of the river, and at no 
great distance from it, the mountains followed its course. 
Above these, at the distance of fifty miles from us, an irreg- 
ular range of mountains spread from west to northwest 
from his position. To the north of these, a few elevated 
points, the most remarkable of which bore N. 65° W., 
appeared above the horizon ; and as the sun shone on the 
snows of their summits, he obtained a clear and satisfactory 
view of those mountains which close on the Missouri the 
passage to the Pacific." 

As they continued to ascend the Missouri they found 
themselves confronted by many considerable rapids which 
sometimes delayed their progress. They also set forth 
this observation : " The only animals we have observed are 
the elk, the bighorn, and the hare common to this coun- 
try." Wayfarers across the plains now call this hare the 



86 First Across the Continent 

jack-rabbit. The river soon became very rapid with a 
marked descent, indicating their nearness to its mountain 
sources. The journal says : — 

" Its general width is about two hundred yards ; the shoals 
are more frequent, and the rocky points at the mouths 
of the gullies more troublesome to pass. Great quantities 
of stone lie in the river and on its bank, and seem to have 
fallen down as the rain washed away the clay and sand in 
which they were imbedded. The water is bordered by 
high, rugged bluffs, composed of irregular but horizontal 
strata of yellow and brown or black clay, brown and 
yellowish-white sand, soft yellowish-white sandstone, and 
hard dark brown freestone ; also, large round kidney- 
formed irregular separate masses of a hard black ironstone, 
imbedded in the clay and sand ; some coal or carbonated 
wood also makes its appearance in the cliiTs, as do its usual 
attendants, the pumice-stone and burnt earth. The salts 
and quartz are less abundant, and, generally speaking, the 
country is, if possible, more rugged and barren than that 
we passed yesterday ; the only growth of the hills being a 
few pine, spruce, and dwarf cedar, interspersed with an 
occasional contrast, once in the course of some miles, of 
several acres of level ground, which supply a scanty sub- 
sistence for a few little cottonwoods." 

But, a few days later, the party passed out of this in- 
hospitable region, and, after passing a stream which they 
named Thompson's (now Birch) Creek, after one of their 
men, they were glad to make this entry in their diary: 

" Here the country assumed a totally different aspect: 
the hills retired on both sides from the river, which spreads 
to more than three times its former size, and is filled with 
a number of small handsome islands covered with cotton- 
wood. The low grounds on its banks are again wide, 



In the Solitudes of the Upper Missouri 87 

fertile, and enriched with trees: those on the north are 
particularly wide, the hills being comparatively low, and 
opening into three large valleys, which extend themselves 
for a considerable distance towards the north. These ap- 
pearances of vegetation are delightful after the dreary hills 
among which we have passed ; and we have now to con- 
gratulate ourselves at having escaped from the last ridges 
of the Black Mountains. On leaving Thompson's Creek 
we passed two small islands, and at twenty-three miles' 
distance encamped among some timber ; on the north, 
opposite to a small creek, which we named Bull Creek. 
The bighorn are in great quantities, and must bring forth 
their young at a very early season, as they are now half 
grown. One of the party saw a large bear also ; but, 
being at a distance from the river, and having no timber 
to conceal him, he would not venture to fire." 

A curious adv^enture happened on the twenty-eighth, of 
which the journal, next day, makes this mention : — 

" Last night we were alarmed by a new sort of enemy. 
A buffalo swam over from the opposite side, and to the 
spot where lay one of our canoes, over which he clambered 
to the shore : then, taking fright, he ran full speed up the 
bank towards our fires, and passed within eighteen inches 
of the heads of some of the men before the sentinel could 
make him change his course. Still more alarmed, he ran 
down between four fires, and within a few inches of the 
heads of a second row of the men, and would have broken 
into our lodge if the barking of the dog had not stopped him. 
He suddenly turned to the right, and was out of sight in a 
moment, leaving us all in confusion, every one seizing his 
rifle and inquiring the cause of the alarm. On learning 
what had happened, we had to rejoice at suffering no more 
injury than some damage to the guns that were in the 
canoe which the buffalo crossed. 



88 First Across the Continent 

..." We passed an island and two sand-bars, and at 
the distance of two and a half miles came to a handsome 
river, which discharges itself on the south, and which we 
ascended to the distance of a mile and a half: we called it 
Judith's River. It rises in the Rocky Mountains, in about 
the same place with the Musselshell, and near the Yellow- 
stone River. Its entrance is one hundred yards wide from 
one bank to the other, the water occupying about seventy- 
five yards, and being in greater quantity than that of the 
Musselshell River. . . . There were great numbers of the 
argalea, or bighorned animals, in the high country through 
which it passes, and of beaver in its waters. Just above 
the entrance of it we saw the ashes of the fires of one 
hundred and twenty-six lodges, which appeared to have 
been deserted about twelve or fifteen days." 

Leaving Judith's River, named for a sweet Virginia lass, 
the explorers sailed, or were towed, seventeen miles up 
the river, where they camped at the mouth of a bold, run- 
ning river to which they gave the name of Slaughter River. 
The stream is now known as the Arrow ; the appropriate- 
ness of the title conferred on the stream by Lewis and 
Clark appears from the story which they tell of their 
experience just below " Slaughter River," as follows : 

" On the north we passed a precipice about one hundred 
and twenty feet high, under which lay scattered the frag- 
ments of at least one hundred carcasses of buffaloes, 
although the water which had washed away the lower 
part of the hill must have carried olT many of the dead. 
These buffaloes had been chased down the precipice in 
a way very common on the Missouri, by which vast herds 
are destroyed in a moment. The mode of hunting is 
to select one of the most active and fleet young men, 
who is disguised by a buffalo-skin round his body; the 




Indians disguised as Buffaloes 



In the Solitudes of the Upper Missouri 89 

skin of the head with the ears and horns being fastened 
on his own head in such a way as to deceive the buffalo. 
Thus dressed, he fixes himself at a convenient distance 
between a herd of buffalo and any of the river preci- 
pices, which sometimes extend for some miles. His 
companions in the mean time get in the rear and side of 
the herd, and at a given signal show themselves and 
advance toward the buffaloes. These instantly take the 
alarm, and finding the hunters beside them, they run 
toward the disguised Indian or decoy, who leads them on 
at full speed toward the river; when, suddenly securing 
himself in some crevice of the cliff which he had previously 
fixed on, the herd is left on the brink of the precipice. It 
is then in vain for the foremost buffaloes to retreat or even 
to stop ; they are pressed on by the hindmost rank, which, 
seeing no danger but from the hunters, goad on those 
before them till the whole are precipitated, and the shore 
is strewn with their dead bodies. Sometimes, in this 
perilous seduction, the Indian is himself either trodden 
under foot by the rapid movements of the buffaloes, or 
missing his footing in the cliif is urged down the precipice 
by the falling herd. The Indians then select as much 
meat as they wish ; the rest is abandoned to the wolves, 
and creates a most dreadful stench. The wolves which 
had been feasting on these carcasses were very fat, and so 
gentle that one of them was killed with an espontoon." ^ 

The dryness and purity of the air roused the admiration 
of the explorers, who noticed that the woodwork of the 
cases of their instruments shrank, and the joints opened, 
although the wood was old and perfectly seasoned. A 
tablespoonful of water, exposed to the air in an open 
saucer, would wholly evaporate in thirty-six hours, when 

^ A short spear. 



90 First Across the Continent 

the thermometer did not mark higher than the " Tem- 
perate " point at the warmest hour of the day. Contrary 
to their expectations, they had not yet met with any 
Indians, although they saw many signs of their having 
recently been in that vicinity. The journal says : 

" In the course of the day [May 30] we passed several 
encampments of Indians, the most recent of which seemed 
to have been evacuated about five weeks since ; and, from 
the several apparent dates, we supposed that they were 
formed by a band of about one hundred lodges, who were 
travelling slowly up the river. Although no part of the 
Missouri from the Minnetarees to this place exhibits signs 
of permanent settlements, yet none seem exempt from 
the transient visits of hunting-parties. We know that the 
Minnetarees of the Missouri extend their excursions on 
the south side of the river as high as the Yellowstone, and 
the Assiniboins visit the northern side, most probably as 
high as Porcupine River. All the lodges between that 
place and the Rocky Mountains we supposed to belong 
to the Minnetarees of Fort de Prairie, who live on the 
south fork of the Saskashawan." 

The party now entered upon some of the natural 
wonders of the West, which have since become famous. 
Their journal says: — 

" These hills and river-cliffs exhibit a most extraordinary 
and romantic appearance. They rise in most places nearly 
perpendicular from the water, to the height of between two 
hundred and three hundred feet, and are formed of very 
white sandstone, so soft as to yield readily to the impression 
of water, in the upper part of which lie imbedded two or three 
thin horizontal strata of white freestone, insensible to the 
rain ; on the top is a dark rich loam, which forms a gradually 
ascending plain, from a mile to a mile and a half in extent, 



In the Solitudes of the Upper Missouri 91 

when the hills again rise abruptly to the height of about 
three hundred feet more. In trickling down the cliffs, the 
water has worn the soft sandstone into a thousand grotesque 
figures, among which, with a little fancy, may be discerned 
elegant ranges of freestone buildings, with columns vari- 
ously sculptured, and supporting long and elegant galler- 
ies, while the parapets are adorned with statuary. On a 
nearer approach they represent every form of elegant 
ruins — columns, some with pedestals and capitals entire, 
others mutilated and prostrate, and some rising pyrami- 
dally over each other till they terminate in a sharp point. 
These are varied by niches, alcoves, and the customary 
appearances of desolated magnificence. The illusion is 
increased by the number of martins, which have built their 
globular nests in the niches, and hover over these columns, 
as in our country they are accustomed to frequent large 
stone structures. As we advance there seems no end to 
the visionary enchantment which surrounds us. 

" In the midst of this fantastic scenery are vast ranges of 
walls, which seem the productions of art, so regular is the 
workmanship. They rise perpendicularly from the river, 
sometimes to the height of one hundred feet, varying in 
thickness from one to twelve feet, being as broad at the top 
as below. The stones of which they are formed are black, 
thick, durable, and composed of a large portion of earth, 
intermixed and cemented with a small quantity of sand 
and a considerable proportion of talk [talc] or quartz. 
These stones are almost invariably regular parallelopipeds 
of unequal sizes in the wall, but equally deep and laid regu- 
larly in ranges over each other like bricks, each breaking 
and covering the interstice of the two on which it rests; 
but though the perpendicular interstice be destroyed, the 
horizontal one extends entirely through the whole work. 



92 First Across the Continent 

The stones are proportioned to the thickness of the wall 
in which they are employed, being largest in the thickest 
walls. The thinner walls are composed of a single depth 
of the parallelopiped, while the thicker ones consist of two 
or more depths. These walls pass the river at several 
places, rising from the water's edge much above the sand- 
stone bluffs, which they seem to penetrate ; thence they 
cross in a straight line, on either side of the river, the 
plains, over which they tower to the height of from ten to 
seventy feet, until they lose themselves in the second range 
of hills. Sometimes they run parallel in several ranges 
near to each other, sometimes intersect each other at right 
angles, and have the appearance of walls of ancient houses 
or gardens." 

The wall-like, canyon formations were charted by Lewis 
and Clark as " The Stone Walls." Their fantastic outlines 
have been admired and described by modern tourists, and 
some of them have been named " Cathedral Rocks," " Cita- 
del Rock," " Hole in the Wall," and so on. 

Passing out of this wonderful region, the expedition 
entered upon a more level country, here and there broken 
by bluffy formations which extended along the river, occa- 
sionally interspersed with low hills. Their journal says : 

" In the plains near the river are the choke-cherry, yellow 
and red currant bushes, as well as the wild rose and prickly 
pear, both of which are now in bloom. From the tops of 
the river-hills, which are lower than usual, we enjoyed a 
delightful view of the rich, fertile plains on both sides, in 
many places extending from the river-cliffs to a great dis- 
tance back. In these plains we meet, occasionally, large 
banks of pure sand, which were driven apparently by the 
southwest winds and there deposited. The plains are 
more fertile some distance from the river than near its 



In the Solitudes of the Upper Missouri 93 

banks, where the surface of the earth is very generally 
strewed with small pebbles, which appear to be smoothed 
and worn by the agitation of the waters with which they 
were, no doubt, once covered." 

Under date of June 2d, the journal says: — 

" The current of the river is strong but regular, the tim- 
ber increases in quantity, the low grounds become more 
level and extensive, and the bluffs are lower than before. 
As the game is very abundant, we think it necessary to 
begin a collection of hides for the purpose of making a 
leathern boat, which we intend constructing shortly. The 
hunters, who were out the greater part of the day, brought 
in six elk, two buffalo, two mule-deer, and a bear. This 
last animal had nearly cost us the lives of two of our hunt- 
ers, who were together when he attacked them. One of 
them narrowly escaped being caught, and the other, after 
running a considerable distance, concealed himself in some 
thick bushes, and, while the bear was in quick pursuit of 
his hiding-place, his companion came up, and fortunately 
shot the animal through the head." 

Here the party came to the mouth of a large river which 
entered the Missouri from the northwest, at the site of the 
latter-day town of Ophir, Montana. This stream they 
named Maria's River, in honor of another Virginia dam- 
sel. So large and important in appearance was Maria's 
River that the explorers were not certain which was the 
main stream, that which came in from the north, or that 
which, flowing here in a general course from southwest to 
northeast, was really the true Missouri. The journal says: 

" It now became an interesting question, which of these 
two streams is what the Minnetarees call Ahmateahza, 
or Missouri, which they describe as approaching very near 
to the Columbia. On our ricrht decision much of the fate 



94 First Across the Continent 

of the expedition depends ; since if, after ascending to the 
Rocky Mountains or beyond them, we should find that the 
river we were following did not come near the Columbia, 
and be obliged to return, we should not only lose the 
travelling season, two months of which have already 
elapsed, but probably dishearten the men so much as to 
induce them either to abandon the enterprise, or yield us 
a cold obedience, instead of the warm and zealous sup- 
port which they have hitherto afforded us. We deter- 
mined, therefore, to examine well before we decided on 
our future course. For this purpose we despatched two 
canoes with three men up each of the streams, with orders 
to ascertain the width, depth, and rapidity of the current, 
so as to judge of their comparative bodies of water. At 
the same time parties were sent out by land to penetrate 
the country, and discover from the rising grounds, if possi- 
ble, the distant bearings of the two rivers ; and all were 
directed to return toward evening. 

Both parties returned without bringing any information 
that would settle the point. Which was the true Missouri 
still remained uncertain. Under these circumstances, it 
became necessary that there should be a more thorough 
exploration, and the next morning Captains Lewis and 
Clark set out at the head of two separate parties, the 
former to examine the north, and the latter the south fork. 
In his progress Captain Lewis and his party were fre- 
quently obliged to quit the course of the river and cross 
the plains and hills, but he did not lose sight of its general 
direction, and carefully took the bearings of the distant 
mountains. On the morning of the third day he became 
convinced that this river pursued a course too far north 
for his contemplated route to the Pacific, and he accord- 



In the Solitudes of the Upper Missouri 95 

ingly determined to return, but judged it advisable to wait 
till noon, that he might obtain a meridian altitude. In 
this, however, he was disappointed, owing to the state of 
the weather. Much rain had fallen, and their return was 
somewhat difficult, and not unattended with danger, as the 
following incident, which occurred on June 7th, will show : 
" In passing along the side of a bluflf at a narrow pass 
thirty yards in length. Captain Lewis slipped, and, but for 
a fortunate recovery by means of his spontoon, would have 
been precipitated into the river over a precipice of about 
ninety feet. He had just reached a spot where, by the assist- 
ance of his spontoon, he could stand with tolerable safety, 
when he heard a voice behind him cry out, ' Good God, 
captain, what shall I do?' He turned instantly, and found 
it was Windsor, who had lost his foothold about the middle 
of the narrow pass, and had slipped down to the very verge 
of the precipice, where he lay on his belly, with his right 
arm and leg over it, while with the other leg and arm he 
was with difficulty holding on, to keep himself from being 
dashed to pieces below. His dreadful situation was in- 
stantly perceived by Captain Lewis, who, stifling his alarm, 
calmly told him that he was in no danger ; that he should 
take his knife out of his belt with his right hand, and dig 
a hole in the side of the bluff to receive his right foot. 
With great presence of mind he did this, and then raised 
himself on his knees. Captain Lewis then told him to 
take off his moccasins and come forward on his hands and 
knees, holding the knife in one hand and his rifle in the 
other. He immediately crawled in this way till he came 
to a secure spot. The men who had not attempted this 
passage were ordered to return and wade the river at the 
foot of the bluff, where they found the water breast-high. 
This adventure taught them the danger of crossing the 



96 First Across the Continent 

slippery heights of the river; but as the plains were inter- 
sected by deep ravines, almost as difficult to pass, they 
continued down the river, sometimes in the mud of the 
low grounds, sometimes up to their arms in the water ; 
and when it became too deep to wade, they cut footholds 
with their knives in the sides of the banks. In this way 
they travelled through the rain, mud, and water, and having 
made only eighteen miles during the whole day, camped 
in an old Indian lodge of sticks, which afforded them a dry 
shelter. Here they cooked part of six deer they had 
killed in the course of their walk, and having eaten the 
only morsel they had tasted during the whole day, slept 
comfortably on some willow-boughs." 



Chapter X 
To the Great Falls of the Missouri 

NEXT day, June 8, the Lewis party returned to the 
main body of the expedition. They reported that 
timber was scarce along the river, except in the lowlands, 
where there were pretty groves and thickets. These trees, 
the journal says, were the haunts of innumerable birds, 
which, as the sun rose, sung delightfully : — 

" Among these birds they distinguished the brown thrush, 
robin, turtle-dove, linnet, gold-finch, large and small black- 
bird, wren, and some others. As they came along, the 
whole party were of opinion that this river was the true 
Missouri ; but Captain Lewis, being fully persuaded that 
it was neither the main stream, nor that which it would 
be advisable to ascend, gave it the name of Maria's River. 
After travelling all day they reached camp about five 
o'clock in the afternoon, and found Captain Clark and the 
party very anxious for their safety. As they had stayed two 
days longer than had been expected, and as Captain Clark 
had returned at the appointed time, it was feared that they 
had met with some accident." 

As we now know, the stream that came in from the 
north was that which is still called Maria's (or Marais) 
River, and the so-called branch from the southwest was 
the Missouri River. Lewis and Clark, however, were in 
the dark as to the relations of the two streams. Which 
was the parent? Which was the branch? After pon- 
dering all the evidence that could be collected to bear on 

7 



98 First Across the Continent 

the important question, the two captains agreed that the 
southern stream was the true Missouri, and the northern 
stream was an important branch. The journal says : 

" These observations, which satisfied our minds com- 
pletely, we communicated to the party; but every one of 
them was of a contrary opinion. Much of their belief de- 
pended on Crusatte, an experienced waterman on the Mis- 
souri, who gave it as his decided judgment that the north 
fork was the genuine Missouri. The men, therefore, men- 
tioned that, although they would most cheerfully follow us 
wherever we should direct, yet they were afraid that the 
south fork would soon terminate in the Rocky Mountains, 
and leave us at a great distance from the Columbia. In 
order that nothing might be omitted which could prevent 
our falling into an error, it was agreed that one of us 
should ascend the southern branch by land, until we 
reached either the falls or the mountains. In the mean- 
time, in order to lighten our burdens as much as possible, 
we determined to deposit here one of the pirogues, and 
all the heavy baggage which we could possibly spare, as 
well as some provision, salt, powder, and tools. This 
would at once lighten the other boats, and give them the 
crew which had been employed on board the pirogue." 

On the tenth of June, the weather being fair and pleas- 
ant, they dried all their baggage and merchandise and 
secreted them in places of deposits, called caches, as 
follows : — 

"These deposits — or caches, diS they are called by the 
Missouri traders — are very common, particularly among 
those who deal with the Sioux, as the skins and merchan- 
dise will keep perfectly sound for years, and are protected 
from robbery. Our cache was built in the usual manner. 
In the high plain on the north side of the Missouri, and 




Drawing of a Cache 



To the Great Falls of the Missouri 



99 



forty yards from a steep bluff, we chose a dry situation, 
and then, describing a small circle of about twenty inches 
diameter, removed the sod as gently and carefully as pos- 
sible : the hole was then sunk perpendicularly for a foot 
deep. It was now worked gradually wider as it descended, 
till at length it became six or seven feet deep, shaped 
nearly like a kettle, or the lower part of a large still with 
the bottom somewhat sunlc at the centre. As the earth 
was dug it was handed up in a vessel, and carefully laid on 
a skin or cloth, in which it was carried away and thrown 
into the river, so as to leave no trace of it. A floor of 
three or four inches in thickness was then made of dry 
sticks, on which was placed a hide perfectly dry. The 
goods, being well aired and dried, were laid on this floor, 
and prevented from touching the wall by other dried sticks, 
as the merchandise was stowed away. When the hole was 
nearly full, a skin was laid over the goods, and on this 
earth was thrown and beaten down, until, with the addition 
of the sod first removed, the whole was on a level with the 
ground, and there remained not the slightest appearance 
of an excavation. In addition to this, we made another of 
smaller dimensions, in which we placed all the baggage, 
some powder, and our blacksmith's tools, having previously 
repaired such of the tools as we carry with us that require 
mending. To guard against accident, we had two parcels 
of lead and powder in the two places. The red pirogue 
was drawn up on the middle of a small island, at the 
entrance of Maria's River, and secured, by being fastened 
to the trees, from the effects of any floods. We now took 
another observation of the meridian altitude of the sun, and 
found that the mean latitude of Maria's River, as deduced 
from three observations, is 49° 25' 17.2" N." 

In order to make assurance doubly sure, Captain Lewis 



L.ofC. 



loo First Across the Continent 

resolved to take four men with him and ascend the south 
branch (that is, the true Missouri), before committing the 
expedition to that route as the final one. His proposition 
was that his party should proceed up the river as rapidly 
as possible in advance of the main party. On the second 
day out, says the journal : — 

" Captain Lewis left the bank of the river in order to 
avoid the steep ravines, which generally run from the shore 
to the distance of one or two miles in the plain. Having 
reached the open country he went for twelve miles in a 
course a little to the W. of S.W. ; when, the sun becoming 
warm by nine o'clock, he returned to the river in quest of 
water, and to kill something for breakfast; there being no 
water in the plain, and the buffalo, discovering them before 
they came within gunshot, took to flight. They reached 
the banks in a handsome open low ground with cotton- 
wood, after three miles' walk.- Here they saw two large 
brown bears, and killed them both at the first fire — a cir- 
cumstance which has never before occurred since we have 
seen that animal. Having made a meal of a part, and 
hung the remainder on a tree, with a note for Captain 
Clark, they again ascended the bluffs into the open plains. 
Here they saw great numbers of the burrowing-squirrel, 
also some wolves, antelopes, mule-deer, and vast herds of 
buffalo. They soon crossed a ridge considerably higher 
than the surrounding plains, and from its top had a beauti- 
ful view of the Rocky Mountains, which are now com- 
pletely covered with snow. Their general course is from 
S.E. to N. of N.W., and they seem to consist of several 
ranges which successively rise above each other, till the 
most distant mingles with the clouds. After travelling 
twelve miles they again met the river, where there was a 
handsome plain of cottonwood." 



To the Great Falls of the Missouri loi 

Again leaving the river, Captain Lewis bore ofif more to 
the north, the stream here bearing considerably to the 
south, with difficult bluffs along its course. But fearful of 
passing the Great Falls before reaching the Rocky Moun- 
tains, he again changed his course and, leaving the bluffs 
to his right he turned towards the river. 

The journal gives this description of what followed : — 

" In this direction Captain Lewis had gone about two 
miles, when his ears were saluted with the agreeable sound 
of a fall of water, and as he advanced a spray, which 
seemed driven by the high southwest wind, arose above 
the plain like a column of smoke, and vanished in an in- 
stant. Toward this point he directed his steps ; the noise 
increased as he approached, and soon became too tremen- 
dous to be mistaken for anything but the Great Falls of 
the Missouri. Having travelled seven miles after first 
hearing the sound, he reached the falls about twelve 
o'clock. The hills as he approached were difficult of 
access and two hundred feet high. Down these he hur- 
ried with impatience; and, seating himself on some rocks 
under the centre of the falls, enjoyed the sublime specta- 
cle of this stupendous object, which since the creation 
had been lavishing its magnificence upon the desert, 
unknown to civilization. 

"The river immediately at this cascade is three hundred 
yards wide, and is pressed in by a perpendicular cliff on the 
left, which rises to about one hundred feet and extends up 
the stream for a mile ; on the right the bluff is also per- 
pendicular for three hundred yards above the falls. For 
ninety or one hundred yards from the left cliff, the water 
falls in one smooth, even sheet, over a precipice of at 
least eighty feet. The remaining part of the river pre- 
cipitates itself with a more rapid current, but being 



I02 First Across the Continent 

received as it falls by the irregular and somewhat project- 
ing rocks below, forms a splendid prospect of perfectly 
white foam, two hundred yards in length and eighty in 
perpendicular elevation. This spray is dissipated into a 
thousand shapes, sometimes flying up in columns of fifteen 
or twenty feet, which are then oppressed by larger masses 
of the white foam, on all of which the sun impresses the 
brightest colors of the rainbow. Below the fall the water 
beats with fury against a ledge of rocks, which extends 
across the river at one hundred and fifty yards from the 
precipice. From the perpendicular cliff on the north to 
the distance of one hundred and twenty yards, the rocks are 
only a few feet above the water; and, when the river is 
high, the stream finds a channel across them forty yards 
wide, and near the higher parts of the ledge, which rise 
about twenty feet, and terminate abruptly within eighty or 
ninety yards of the southern side. Between them and the 
perpendicular cliff on the south, the whole body of water 
runs with great swiftness. A few small cedars grow near 
this ridge of rocks, which serves as a barrier to defend a 
small plain of about three acres, shaded with cottonwood ; 
at the lower extremity of which is a grove of the same 
trees, where are several deserted Indian cabins of sticks ; 
below which the river is divided by a large rock, several 
feet above the surface of the water, and extending down 
the stream for twenty yards. At the distance of three 
hundred yards from the same ridge is a second abutment 
of solid perpendicular rock, about sixty feet high, project- 
ing at right angles from the small plain on the north for 
one hundred and thirty-four yards into the river. After 
leaving this, the Missouri again spreads itself to its pre- 
vious breadth of three hundred yards, though with more 
than its ordinary rapidity." 



To the Great Falls of the Missouri 103 

One of Lewis's men was sent back to inform Captain 
Clark of this momentous discovery, which finally settled 
all doubt as to which was the true Missouri. The famous 
Great Falls of the river had been finally reached. Captain 
Lewis next went on to examine the rapids above the falls. 
The journal says : — 

" After passing one continued rapid and three cascades, 
each three or four feet high, he reached, at the distance 
of five miles, a second fall. The river is here about four 
hundred yards wide, and for the distance of three hundred 
rushes down to the depth of nineteen feet, and so irregu- 
larly that he gave it the name of the Crooked Falls. From 
the southern shore it extends obliquely upward about one 
hundred and fifty yards, and then forms an acute angle 
downward nearly to the commencement of four small 
islands close to the northern side. From the perpendicu- 
lar pitch to these islands, a distance of more than one 
hundred yards, the water glides down a sloping rock with 
a velocity almost equal to that of its fall : above this fall 
the river bends suddenly to the northward. While viewing 
this place, Captain Lewis heard a loud roar above him, 
and, crossing the point of a hill a few hundred yards, he 
saw one of the most beautiful objects in nature: the whole 
Missouri is suddenly stopped by one shelving rock, which, 
without a single niche, and with an edge as straight and 
regular as if formed by art, stretches itself from one side 
of the river to the other for at least a quarter of a mile. 
Over this it precipitates itself in an even, uninterrupted 
sheet, to the perpendicular depth of fifty feet, whence, 
dashing against the rocky bottom, it rushes rapidly down, 
leaving behind it a sheet of the purest foam across the 
river. The scene which it presented was indeed singularly 
beautiful ; since, without any of the wild, irregular sub- 



io4 First Across the Continent 

limity of the lower falls, it combined all the regular ele- 
gancies which the fancy of a painter would select to 
form a beautiful waterfall. The eye had scarcely been 
regaled with this charming prospect, when at the distance 
of half a mile Captain Lewis observed another of a 
similar kind. To this he immediately hastened, and found 
a cascade stretching across the whole river for a quarter 
of a mile, with a descent of fourteen feet, though the per- 
pendicular pitch was only six feet. This, too, in any other 
neighborhood, would have been an object of great magni- 
ficence ; but after what he had just seen, it became of 
secondary interest. His curiosity being, however, awak- 
ened, he determined to go on, even should night overtake 
him, to the head of the falls. 

" He therefore pursued the southwest course of the river, 
which was one constant succession of rapids and small cas- 
cades, at every one of which the bluffs grew lower, or the 
bed of the river became more on a level with the plains. 
At the distance of two and one-half miles he arrived at an- 
other cataract, of twenty-six feet. The river is here six hun- 
dred yards wide, but the descent is not immediately perpen- 
dicular, though the river falls generally with a regular and 
smooth sheet; for about one-third of the descent a rock 
protrudes to a small distance, receives the water in its 
passage, and gives it a curve. On the south side is a 
beautiful plain, a few feet above the level of the falls ; on 
the north, the country is more broken, and there is a hill 
not far from the river. Just below the falls is a little island 
in the middle of the river, well covered with timber. Here 
on a Cottonwood tree an eagle had fixed her nest, and 
seemed the undisputed mistress of a spot, to contest whose 
dominion neither man nor beast would venture across the 
gulfs that surround it, and which is further secured by the 



To the Great Falls of the Missouri 105 

mist rising from the falls. This soHtary bird could not 
escape the observation of the Indians, who made the 
eagle's nest a part of their description of the falls, which 
now proves to be correct in almost every particular, except 
that they did not do justice to the height. 

" Just above this is a cascade of about five feet, beyond 
which, as far as could be discerned, the velocity of the 
water seemed to abate. Captain Lewis now ascended the 
hill which was behind him, and saw from its top a delight- 
ful plain, extending from the river to the base of the Snowy 
[Rocky] Mountains to the south and southwest. Along 
this wide, level country the Missouri pursued its winding 
course, filled with water to its smooth, grassy banks, while 
about four miles above, it was joined by a large river 
flowing from the northwest, through a valley three miles 
in width, and distinguished by the timber which adorned 
its shores. The Missouri itself stretches to the south, in 
one unruffled stream of water, as if unconscious of the 
roughness it must soon encounter, and bearing on its 
bosom vast flocks of geese, while numerous herds of 
buffalo arc feeding on the plains which surround it. 

" Captain Lewis then descended the hill, and directed 
his course towards the river falling in from the west. He 
soon met a herd of at least a thousand buffalo, and, being 
desirous of providing for supper, shot one of them. The 
animal immediately began to bleed, and Captain Lewis, 
who had forgotten to reload his rifle, was intently watching 
to see him fall, when he beheld a large brown bear which 
was stealing on him unperceived, and was already within 
twenty steps. In the first moment of surprise he lifted his 
rifle; but, remembering instantly that it was not charged, 
and that he had no time to reload, he felt that there was no 
safety but in flight. It was in the open, level plain ; not a 



1 06 First Across the Continent 

bush nor a tree within three hundred yards; the bank of 
the river sloping, and not more than three feet high, so 
that there was no possible mode of concealment. Captain 
Lewis, therefore, thought of retreating with a quick walk, 
as fast as the bear advanced, towards the nearest tree ; but, 
as soon as he turned, the bear rushed open-mouthed, and 
at full speed, upon him. Captain Lewis ran about eighty 
yards, but finding that the animal gained on him fast, it 
flashed on his mind that, by getting into the water to such 
a depth that the bear would be obliged to attack him 
swimming, there was still some chance of his life ; he 
therefore turned short, plunged into the river about waist- 
deep, and facing about presented the point of his espon- 
toon. The bear arrived at the water's edge within twenty 
feet of him ; but as soon as he put himself in this posture 
of defence, the bear seemed frightened, and wheeling about, 
retreated with as much precipitation as he had pursued. 
Very glad to be released from this danger. Captain Lewis 
returned to the shore, and observed him run with great 
speed, sometimes looking back as if he expected to be 
pursued, till he reached the woods. He could not con- 
ceive the cause of the sudden alarm of the bear, but 
congratulated himself on his escape when he saw his own 
track torn to pieces by the furious animal, and learned 
from the whole adventure never to suffer his rifle to be 
a moment unloaded." 

Captain Lewis now resumed his progress towards the 
western, or Sun, River, then more commonly known 
among the Indians as Medicine River. In going through 
the lowlands of this stream, he met an animal which he 
thought was a wolf, but which was more likely a wolver- 
ine, or carcajou. The journal says : — 

" It proved to be some brownish yellow animal, standing 



To the Great Falls of the Missouri 1 07 

near its burrow, which, when he came nigh, crouched, and 
seemed as if about to spring on him. Captain Lewis fired, 
and the beast disappeared in its burrow. From the track, 
and the general appearance of the animal, he supposed it 
to be of the tiger kind. He then went on; but, as if the 
beasts of the forest had conspired against him, three buf- 
falo bulls, which were feeding with a large herd at the dis- 
tance of half a mile, left their companions, and ran at full 
speed towards him. He turned round, and, unwilling to 
give up the field, advanced to meet them : when they were 
within a hundred yards they stopped, looked at him for 
some time, and then retreated as they came. He now pur- 
sued his route in the dark, reflecting on the strange adven- 
tures and sights of the day, which crowded on his mind so 
rapidly, that he should have been inclined to believe it all 
enchantment if the thorns of the prickly pear, piercing his 
feet, had not dispelled at every moment the illusion. He 
at last reached the party, who had been very anxious for 
his safety, and who had already decided on the route 
which each should take in the morning to look for him. 
Being much fatigued, he supped, and slept well during the 
night." 

On awaking the next morning, Captain Lewis found a 
large rattlesnake coiled on the trunk of a tree under which 
he had been sleeping. He killed it, and found it like 
those he had seen before, differing from those of the 
Atlantic States, not in its colors, but in the form and 
arrangement of them. Information was received that Cap- 
tain Clark had arrived five miles below, at a rapid which 
he did not think it prudent to ascend, and that he was 
waiting there for the party above to rejoin him. 

After the departure of Captain Lewis, Captain Clark had 
remained a day at Maria's River, to complete the deposit 



io8 First Across the Continent 

of such articles as they could dispense with, and started on 
the twelfth of June. 

Four days later, Captain Clark left the river, having sent 
his messenger to Captain Lewis, and began to search for 
a proper portage to convey the pirogue and canoes across 
to the Columbia River, leaving most of the men to hunt, 
make wheels and draw the canoes up a creek which they 
named Portage Creek, as it was to be the base of their 
future operations. The stream is now known as Belt 
Mountain Creek. But the explorers soon found that 
although the pirogue was to be left behind, the way was 
too difficult for a portage even for canoes. The journal 
says : — 

" We found great difficulty and some danger in even 
ascending the creek thus far, in consequence of the rapids 
and rocks of the channel of the creek, which just above 
where we brought the canoes has a fall of five feet, with 
high steep bluffs beyond it. We were very fortunate in 
finding, just below Portage Creek, a cottonwood tree about 
twenty-two inches in diameter, large enough to make the 
carriage-wheels. It was, perhaps, the only one of the 
same size within twenty miles ; and the cottonwood which 
we are obliged to employ in the other parts of the work 
is extremely soft and brittle. The mast of the white 
pirogue, which we mean to leave behind, supplied us 
with two axle-trees. 

" There are vast quantities of buffalo feeding on the 
plains or watering in the river, which is also strewed with 
the floating carcasses and limbs of these animals. They 
go in large herds to water about the falls, and as all the 
passages to the river near that place are narrow and steep, 
the foremost are pressed into the river by the impatience 
of those behind. In this way we have seen ten or a dozen 



To the Great Falls of the Missouri 109 



disappear over the falls in a few minutes. They afford 
excellent food for the wolves, bears, and birds of prey; 
which circumstance may account for the reluctance of the 
bears to yield their dominion over the neighborhood. 

" The pirogue was drawn up a little below our camp, and 
secured in a thick copse of willow-bushes. We now began 
to form a cache or place of deposit, and to dry our goods 
and other articles which required inspection. The wagons 
are completed. Our hunters brought us ten deer, and we 
shot two out of a herd of buffalo that came to water at 
Sulphur Spring. There is a species of gooseberry, grow- 
ing abundantly among the rocks on the sides of the cliffs. 
It is now ripe, of a pale red color, about the size of the 
common gooseberry, and like it is an ovate pericarp of 
soft pulp enveloping a number of small whitish seeds, and 
consisting of a yellowish, slimy, mucilaginous substance, 
with a sweet taste; the surface of the berry is covered 
glutinous, adhesive matter, and its fruit, though ripe, 
retains its withered corolla. The shrub itself seldom rises 
more than two feet high, is much branched, and has no 
thorns. The leaves resemble those of the common goose- 
berry, except in being smaller, and the berry is supported 
by separate peduncles or foot-stalks half an inch long. 
There are also immense quantities of grasshoppers, of a 
brown color, on the plains ; they, no doubt, contribute to 
the lowness of the grass, which is not generally more than 
three inches high, though it is soft, narrow-leaved, and 
affords a fine pasture for the buffalo." 



Chapter XI 
In the Heart of the Continent 

CAPTAIN CLARK continued his observations up the 
long series of rapids and falls until he came to a 
group of three small islands to which he gave the name of 
White Bear Islands, from his having seen numerous white, 
or grizzly, bears on them. On the nineteenth of June, 
Captain Clark, after a careful survey of the country on 
both sides of the stream, decided that the best place for 
a portage was on the south, or lower, side of the river, the 
length of the portage being estimated to be about eighteen 
miles, over which the canoes and supplies must be carried. 
Next day he proceeded to mark out the exact route of the 
portage, or carry, by driving stakes along its lines and 
angles. From the survey and drawing which he made, 
the party now had a clear and accurate view of the falls, 
cascades, and rapids of the Missouri ; and, it may be 
added, this draught, which is reproduced on another page 
of this book, is still so correct in all its measurements that 
when a Montana manufacturing company undertook to 
build a dam at Black Eagle Falls, nearly one hundred years 
afterwards, they discovered that their surveys and those of 
Captain Clark were precisely alike. The total fall of the 
river, from the White Bear Islands, as Lewis and Clark 
called them, to the foot of the Great Falls, is four hundred 
twelve and five-tenths feet; the sheer drop of the Great 
Fall is seventy-five and five-tenths feet. The wild, track- 




T II K 



White Bear Portage 



In the Heart of the Continent 1 1 1 

less prairie of Lewis and Clark's time is now the site of 
the thriving town of Great Falls, which has a population 
of ten thousand. 

Here is a lucid and connected account of the falls and 
rapids, discovered and described by Lewis and Clark : 

" This river is three hundred yards wide at the point 
where it receives the waters of Medicine [Sun] River, 
which is one hundred and thirty-seven yards in width. 
The united current continues three hundred and twenty- 
eight poles to a small rapid on the north side, from which 
it gradually widens to fourteen hundred yards, and at the 
distance of five hundred and forty-eight poles reaches the 
head of the rapids, narrowing as it approaches them. 
Here the hills on the north, which had withdrawn from 
the bank, closely border the river, which, for the space 
of three hundred and twenty poles, makes its way over 
the rocks, with a descent of thirty feet. In this course the 
current is contracted to five hundred and eighty yards, 
and after throwing itself over a small pitch of five feet, 
forms a beautiful cascade of twenty-six feet five inches ; 
this does not, however, fall immediately or perpendicularly, 
being stopped by a part of the rock, which projects at 
about one-third of the distance. After descending this 
fall, and passing the cottonwood island on which the eagle 
has fixed her nest, the river goes on for five hundred and 
thirty-two poles over rapids and little falls, the estimated 
descent of which is thirteen and one-half feet, till it is 
joined by a large fountain boiling up underneath the rocks 
near the edge of the river, into which it falls with a 
cascade of eight feet. The water of this fountain is of the 
most perfect clearness, and of rather a bluish cast; and, 
even after falling into the Missouri, it preserves its color 
for half a mile. From the fountain the river descends with 



1 1 2 First Across the Continent 

increased rapidity for the distance of two hundred and 
fourteen poles, during which the estimated descent is five 
feet; and from this, for a distance of one hundred and 
thirty-five poles, it descends fourteen feet seven inches, 
including a perpendicular fall of six feet seven inches. 
The Missouri has now become pressed into a space of 
four hundred and seventy-three yards, and here forms a 
grand cataract, by falling over a plain rock the whole 
distance across the river, to the depth of forty-seven feet 
eight inches. After recovering itself, it then proceeds with 
an estimated descent of three feet, till, at the distance of 
one hundred and two poles, it is precipitated down the 
Crooked Falls nineteen feet perpendicular. Below this, at 
the mouth of a deep ravine, is a fall of five feet ; after 
which, for the distance of nine hundred and seventy poles, 
the descent is much more gradual, not being more than 
ten feet, and then succeeds a handsome level plain for the 
space of one hundred and seventy-eight poles, with a 
computed descent of three feet, the river making a bend 
towards the north. Thence it descends, for four hundred 
and eighty poles, about eighteen and one-half feet, when 
it makes a perpendicular fall of two feet, which is ninety 
poles beyond the great cataract ; in approaching which, it 
descends thirteen feet within two hundred yards, and, 
gathering strength from its confined channel, which is only 
two hundred and eighty yards wide, rushes over the fall to 
the depth of eighty-seven feet. 

" After raging among the rocks, and losing itself in foam, 
it is compressed immediately into a bed of ninety-three 
yards in width : it continues for three hundred and forty 
poles to the entrance of a run or deep ravine, where there 
is a fall of three feet, which, added to the decline during 
that distance, makes the descent six feet. As it goes on, 



In the Heart of the Continent 1 1 3 

the descent within the next two hundred and forty poles 
is only four feet; from this, passing a run or deep ravine, 
the descent in four hundred poles is thirteen feet; within 
two hundred and forty poles, another descent of eighteen 
feet; thence, in one hundred and sixty poles, a descent of 
six feet ; after which, to the mouth of Portage Creek, a 
distance of two hundred and eighty poles, the descent is 
ten feet. From this survey and estimate, it results that the 
river experiences a descent of three hundred and fifty-two 
feet in the distance of two and three quarter miles, from 
the commencement of the rapids to the mouth of Portage 
Creek, exclusive of the almost impassable rapids which 
extend for a mile below its entrance." 

On the twenty-first of the month, all the needed prepa- 
rations having been finished, the arduous work of making 
the portage, or carry, was begun. All the members of 
the expedition were now together, and the two captains 
divided with their men the labor of hunting, carrying 
luggage, boat-building, exploring, and so on. They made 
three camps, the lower one on Portage Creek, the next at 
Willow Run [see map], and a third at a point opposite 
White Bear Islands. The portage was not completed 
until July second. They were often delayed by the break- 
ing down of their rude carriages, and during the last 
stage of their journey much of their luggage was carried 
on the backs of the men. They were also very much 
annoyed with the spines of the prickly pear, a species of 
cactus, which, growing low on the ground, is certain to be 
trampled upon by the wayfarer. The spines ran through 
the moccasins of the men and sorely wounded their feet. 
Thus, under date of June twenty-fourth, the journal says 
(It should be understood that the portage was worked 
from above and below the rapids) : — 

8 



114 First Across the Continent 

" On going down yesterday Captain Clark cut off several 
angles of the former route, so as to shorten the portage 
considerably, and marked it with stakes. He arrived there 
in time to have two of the canoes carried up in the high 
plain, about a mile in advance. Here they all repaired 
their moccasins, and put on double soles to protect them 
from the prickly pear, and from the sharp points of earth 
which have been formed by the trampling of the buffalo 
during the late rains. This of itself is sufficient to render 
the portage disagreeable to one who has no burden ; but 
as the men are loaded as heavily as their strength will 
permit, the crossing is really painful. Some are limping 
with the soreness of their feet ; others are scarcely able 
to stand for more than a few minutes, from the heat and 
fatigue. They are all obliged to halt and rest frequently ; 
at almost every stopping-place they fall, and many of 
them are asleep in an instant; yet no one complains, 
and they go on with great cheerfulness. At the camp, 
midway in the portage, Drewyer and Fields joined them ; 
for, while Captain Lewis was looking for them at Medicine 
River, they returned to report the absence of Shannon, 
about whom they had been very uneasy. They had killed 
several buffalo at the bend of the Missouri above the falls, 
dried about eight hundred pounds of meat, and got one hun- 
dred pounds of tallow ; they had also killed some deer, 
but had seen no elk." 

Under this date, too. Captain Lewis, who was with 
another branch of the expedition, makes this note : 
" Such as were able to shake a foot amused themselves in 
dancing on the green to the music of the violin which 
Cruzatte plays extremely well." 

The journal continues : — 

" We were now occupied [at White Bear camp] in fit- 



In the Heart of the Continent 1 1 5 

ting up a boat of skins, the frame of which had been pre- 
pared for the purpose at Harper's Ferry in Virginia, It 
was made of iron, thirty-six feet long, four and one-half 
feet in the beam, and twenty-six inches wide in the bottom. 
Two men had been sent this morning for timber to com- 
plete it, but they could find scarcely any even tolerably 
straight sticks four and one-half feet long; and as the 
Cottonwood is too soft and brittle, we were obliged to use 
willow and box-elder." 

On the twenty-seventh, the main party, which was work- 
ing on the upper part of the portage, joined that ol 
Captain Clark at the lower camp, where a second cache, or 
place of deposit, had been formed, and where the boat- 
swivel was now hidden under the rocks. The journal 
says : — 

" The party were employed in preparing timber for the 
boat, except two who were sent to hunt. About one in 
the afternoon a cloud arose from the southwest, and 
brought with it violent thunder, lightning, and hail. Soon 
after it passed, the hunters came in, from about four miles 
above us. They had killed nine elk and three bears. As 
they were hunting on the river they saw a low ground 
covered with thick brushwood, where from the tracks 
along shore they thought a bear had probably taken 
refuge. They therefore landed, without making a noise, 
and climbed a tree about twenty feet above the ground. 
Having fixed themselves securely, they raised a loud 
shout, and a bear instantly rushed toward them. These 
animals never climb, and therefore when he came to the 
tree and stopped to look at them, Drewyer shot him in 
the head. He proved to be the largest we had yet seen ; 
his nose appeared to be like that of a common ox ; his 
fore feet measured nine inches across; the hind feet were 



Ii6 First Across the Continent 

seven inches wide and eleven and three quarters long, 
exclusive of the talons. One of these animals came within 
thirty yards of the camp last night, and carried off some 
buffalo-meat which we had placed on a pole." 

The party were very much annoyed here by the grizzlies 
which infested their camp at night. Their faithful dog 
always gave warning of the approach of one of these 
monsters ; but the men were obliged to sleep with their 
guns by their side, ready to repel the enemy at a moment's 
notice. 

Captain Clark finally broke up the camp on Portage 
Creek, June 28, having deposited in his cache whatever 
could be left behind without inconvenience. " On the 
following day," the journal says : — 

" Finding it impossible to reach the upper end of the 
portage with the present load, in consequence of the state 
of the road after the rain, he sent back nearly all his party 
to bring on the articles which had been left yesterday. 
Having lost some notes and remarks which he had made 
on first ascending the river, he determined to go up 
to the Whitebear Islands along its banks, in order to 
supply the deficiency. He there left one man to guard 
the baggage, and went on to the falls, accompanied by 
his servant York, Chaboneau, and his wife with her young 
child. 

" On his arrival there he observed a very dark cloud 
rising in the west, which threatened rain, and looked 
around for some shelter; but could find no place where 
the party would be secure from being blown into the 
river, if the wind should prove as violent as it sometimes 
does in the plains. At length, about a quarter of a mile 
above the falls, he found a deep ravine, where there were 
some shelving rocks, under which he took refuge. They 



In the Heart of the Continent 117 

were on the upper side of the ravine near the river, 
perfectly safe from the rain, and therefore laid down their 
guns, compass, and other articles which they carried with 
them. The shower was at first moderate ; it then in- 
creased to a heavy rain, the effects of which they did not 
feel ; but soon after, a torrent of rain and hail descended. 
The rain seemed to fall in a solid mass, and instantly, 
collecting in the ravine, came rolling down in a dreadful 
current, carrying the mud, rocks, and everything that 
opposed it. Captain Clark fortunately saw it a moment 
before it reached them, and springing up with his gun and 
shot-pouch in his left hand, with his right clambered up 
the steep bluff, pushing on the Indian woman with her 
child in her arms ; her husband too had seized her hand 
and was pulling her up the hill, but he was so terrified at 
the danger that he remained frequently motionless ; and 
but for Captain Clark, himself and his wife and child 
would have been lost. So instantaneous was the rise of 
the water that, before Captain Clark had reached his gun 
and begun to ascend the bank, the water was up to his 
waist, and he could scarcely get up faster than it rose, 
till it reached the height of fifteen feet, with a furious cur- 
rent which, had they waited a moment longer, would have 
swept them into the river just above the Great Falls, down 
which they must inevitably have been precipitated. They 
reached the plain in safety and found York, who had 
separated from them just before the storm to hunt some 
buffalo, and was now returning to find his master. They 
had been obliged to escape so rapidly that Captain Clark 
lost his compass [that is, circumferentor] and umbrella, 
Chaboneau left his gun, with Captain Lewis' wiping-rod, 
shot-pouch, and tomahawk, and the Indian woman had 
just time to grasp her child, before the net in which it lay 
at her feet was carried down the current." 



1 1 8 First Across the Continent 

Such a storm is known in the West as a cloud-burst. 
Overland emigrants in the early rush to California often 
suffered loss from these sudden deluges. A party of men, 
with wagons and animals, have been known to be swept 
away and lost in a flood bursting in a narrow canyon in 
the mountains. 

" Captain Clark now relinquished his intention of going 
up the river, and returned to the camp at Willow Run. 
Here he found that the party sent this morning for the 
baggage had all returned to camp in great confusion, leav- 
ing their loads in the plain. On account of the heat, 
they generally go nearly naked, and with no covering on 
their heads. The hail was so large, and driven so furiously 
against them by the high wind, that it knocked several of 
them down : one of them, particularly, was thrown on the 
ground three times, and most of them were bleeding freely, 
and complained of being much bruised. Willow Run had 
risen six feet since the rain ; and, as the plains were so wet 
that they could not proceed, they passed the night at their 
camp. 

"At the White Bear camp, also," (says Lewis), "we had 
not been insensible to the hailstorm, though less exposed. 
In the morning there had been a heavy shower of rain, after 
which it became fair. After assigning to the men their re- 
spective employments, Captain Lewis took one of them, 
and went to see the large fountain near the falls. ... It 
is, perhaps, the largest in America, and is situated in a 
pleasant level plain, about twenty-five yards from the river, 
into which it falls over some steep, irregular rocks, with a 
sudden ascent of about six feet in one part of its course. 
The water boils up from among the rocks, and with such 
force near the centre that the surface seems higher there 
than the earth on the sides of the fountain, which is a hand- 



In the Heart of the Continent 119 

some turf of fine green grass. The water is extremely pure, 
cold, and pleasant to the taste, not being impregnated with 
lime or any foreign substance. It is perfectly transparent, 
and continues its bluish cast for half a mile down the Mis- 
souri, notwithstanding the rapidity of the river. After ex- 
amining it for some time, Captain Lewis returned to the 
camp. 

..." Two men were sent [June 30] to the falls to 
look for the articles lost yesterday ; but they found noth- 
ing but the compass, covered with mud and sand, at the 
mouth of the ravine. The place at which Captain Clark 
had been caught by the storm was filled with large rocks. 
The men complain much of the bruises received yesterday 
from the hail. A more than usual number of buffalo ap- 
peared about the camp to-day, and furnished plenty of 
meat. Captain Clark thought that at one view he must 
have seen at least ten thousand." 

Of the party at the upper camp, opposite White Bear 
Islands, the journal makes this observation : — 

"The party continues to be occupied with the boat, the 
cross-bars for which are now finished, and there remain 
only the strips to complete the woodwork. The skins 
necessary to cover it have already been prepared ; they 
amount to twenty-eight elk-skins and four buffalo-skins. 
Among our game were two beaver, which we have had 
occasion to observe are found wherever there is timber. 
We also killed a large bull-bat or goatsucker, of which there 
are many in this neighborhood, resembling in every respect 
those of the same species in the United States. We have 
not seen the leather-winged bat for some time, nor are there 
any of the small goatsucker in this part of the Missouri. 
We have not seen that species of goatsucker called the whip- 
poorwill, which is commonly confounded in the United 



I20 First Across the Continent 

States with the large goatsucker which we observe here. 
This last prepares no nest, but lays its eggs on the open 
plains ; they generally begin to sit on two eggs, and we 
believe raise only one brood in a season ; at the present 
moment they are just hatching their young." 

Dr. Coues says that we should bear in mind that this 
was written " when bats were birds and whales were fishes 
for most persons," The journal confounds bats, which 
are winged mammals, with goatsuckers, or whippoorwills, 
which are birds. 

The second of July was an interesting date for the ex- 
plorers. On that day we find the following entry in their 
journal : — 

" A shower of rain fell very early this morning. We 
then despatched some men for the baggage left behind 
yesterday, and the rest were engaged in putting the boat 
together. This was accomplished in about three hours, 
and then we began to sew on the leather over the cross- 
bars of iron on the inner side of the boat which form the 
ends of the sections. By two o'clock the last of the bag- 
gage arrived, to the great delight of the party, who were 
anxious to proceed. The mosquitoes we find very trouble- 
some. 

" Having completed our celestial observations, we went 
over to the large island to make an attack upon its inhabit- 
ants, the bears, which have annoyed us very much of late, 
and were prowling about our camp all last night. We 
found that the part of the island frequented by the bears 
forms an almost impenetrable thicket of the broad-leaved 
willow. Into this we forced our way in parties of three ; 
but could see only one bear, which instantly attacked 
Drewyer. Fortunately, as he was rushing on, the hunter 
shot him through the heart within twenty paces and he fell, 




A Grizzly Bear 



In the Heart of the Continent 121 

which enabled Drewyer to get out of his way. We then 
followed him one hundred yards, and found that the 
wound had been mortal. 

" Not being able to discover any more of these animals, 
we returned to camp. Here, in turning over some of the 
baggage, we caught a rat somewhat larger than the com- 
mon European rat, and of a lighter color; the body and 
outer parts of the legs and head of a light lead color ; the 
inner side of the legs, as well as the belly, feet, and ears, 
white ; the ears are not covered w^ith hair, and are much 
larger than those of the common rat; the toes also are 
longer ; the eyes are black and prominent, the whiskers 
very long and full ; the tail is rather longer than the body, 
and covered with fine fur and hair of the same size with 
that on the back, which is very close, short, and silky in its 
texture. This was the first we had met, although its nests 
are very frequent in the cliffs of rocks and hollow trees, 
where we also found large quantities of the shells and seed 
of the prickly-pear." 

The queer rat discovered by Lewis and Clark was then 
unknown to science. It is now known in the Far West as 
the pack-rat. It lives in holes and crevices of the rocks, 
and it subsists on the shells and seeds of the prickly pear, 
which is usually abundant in the hunting grounds of the 
little animal. The explorers were now constantly in full 
view of the Rocky Mountain, on which, however, their 
present title had not then been conferred. Under date of 
July 2, the journal says : — 

"The mosquitoes are uncommonly troublesome. The 
wind was again high from the southwest. These winds 
are in fact always the coldest and most violent which 
we experience, and the hypothesis which we have formed 
on that subject is, that the air, coming in contact with 



122 First Across the Continent 

the Snowy Mountains, immediately becomes chilled and 
condensed, and being thus rendered heavier than the 
air below, it descends into the rarefied air below, or 
into the vacuum formed by the constant action of the 
sun on the open unsheltered plains. The clouds rise 
suddenly near these mountains, and distribute their con- 
tents partially over the neighboring plains. The same 
cloud will discharge hail alone in one part, hail and rain 
in another, and rain only in a third, all within the space 
of a few miles ; while at the same time there is snow falling 
on the mountains to the southeast of us. There is at 
present no snow on those mountains ; that which covered 
them on our arrival, as well as that which has since fallen, 
having disappeared. The mountains to the north and 
northwest of us are still entirely covered with snow; in- 
deed, there has been no perceptible diminution of it since 
we first saw them, which induces a belief either that the 
clouds prevailing at this season do not reach their summits 
or that they deposit their snow only. They glisten with 
great beauty when the sun shines on them in a particular 
direction, and most probably from this glittering appear- 
ance have derived the name of the Shining Mountains." 

A mysterious noise, heard by the party, here engaged 
their attention, as it did years afterwards the attention of 
other explorers. The journal says : — 

" Since our arrival at the falls we have repeatedly heard 
a strange noise coming from the mountains in a direction 
a little to the north of west. It is heard at different 
periods of the day and night (sometimes when the air is 
perfectly still and without a cloud), and consists of one 
stroke only, or of five or six discharges in quick succession. 
It is loud, and resembles precisely the sound of a six-pound 
piece of ordnance at the distance of three miles. The 



In the Heart of the Continent 123 

Minnetarees frequently mentioned this noise, like thunder, 
which they said the mountains made ; but we had paid no 
attention to it, believing it to have been some superstition, 
or perhaps a falsehood. The watermen also of the party 
say that the Pawnees and Ricaras give the same account 
of a noise heard in the Black Mountains to the westward 
of them. The solution of the mystery given by the phi- 
losophy of the watermen is, that it is occasioned by the 
bursting of the rich mines of silver confined within the 
bosom of the mountains." 

Of these strange noises there are many explanations, 
the most plausible being that they are caused by the ex- 
plosion of the species of stone known as the geode, frag- 
ments of which are frequently found among the mountains. 
The geode has a hollow cell within, lined with beautiful 
crystals of many colors. 

Independence Day, 1805, was celebrated with becoming 
patriotism and cheerfulness by these far-wandering adven- 
turers. Their record says : — 

" An elk and a beaver are all that were killed to-day ; 
the buffalo seem to have withdrawn from our neighborhood, 
though several of the men, who went to-day to visit the 
falls for the first time, mention that they are still abundant 
at that place. We contrived, however, to spread not a 
very sumptuous but a comfortable table in honor of the 
day, and in the evening gave the men a drink of spirits, 
which was the last of our stock. Some of them appeared 
sensible to the effects of even so small a quantity; and as 
is usual among them on all festivals, the fiddle was pro- 
duced and a dance begun, which lasted till nine o'clock, 
when it was interrupted by a heavy shower of rain. They 
continued their merriment, however, till a late hour." 

Their bill-of-fare, according to Captain Lewis, was bacon, 



1 24 First Across the Continent 

beans, suet dumplings, and buffalo meat, which, he says, 
" gave them no just cause to covet the sumptuous feasts 
of our countrymen on this day." More than a year passed 
before they again saw and tasted spirits. 

Great expectations were entertained of the boat that 
was built here on the iron frame brought all the way from 
Harper's Ferry, Virginia. The frame was covered with 
dressed skins of buffalo and elk, the seams being coated 
with a composition of powdered charcoal and beeswax, in 
default of tar or pitch. This craft was well named the 
" Experiment," and a disappointing experiment it proved 
to be. Here is Captain Lewis' account of her failure : 

" The boat having now become sufficiently dry, we 
gave her a coat of the composition, which after a proper 
interval was repeated, and the next morning, Tuesday, 
July 9th, she was launched into the water, and swam 
perfectly well. The seats were then fixed and the 
oars fitted ; but after we had loaded her, as well as the 
canoes, and were on the point of setting out, a violent 
wind caused the waves to wet the baggage, so that we 
were forced to unload the boats. The wind continued 
high until evening, when to our great disappointment we 
discovered that nearly all the composition had separated 
from the skins and left the seams perfectly exposed ; so 
that the boat now leaked very much. To repair this mis- 
fortune without pitch is impossible, and as none of that 
article is to be procured, we therefore, however reluctantly, 
are obliged to abandon her, after having had so much 
labor in the construction. We now saw that the section 
of the boat covered with buffalo-skins on which hair had 
been left answered better than the elk-skins, and leaked 
but little ; while that part which was covered with hair 
about one-eighth of an inch retained the composition 



In the Heart of the Continent 125 

perfectly, and remained sound and dry. From this we 
perceived that had we employed buffalo instead of elk 
skins, not singed them so closely as we did, and carefully 
avoided cutting the leather in sewing, the boat would have 
been sufficient even with the present composition ; or had 
we singed instead of shaving the elk-skins, we might have 
succeeded. But we discovered our error too late ; the 
buffalo had deserted us, and the travelling season was so 
fast advancing that we had no time to spare for experi- 
ments; therefore, finding that she could be no longer 
useful, she was sunk in the water, so as to soften the skins, 
and enable us the more easily to take her to pieces. 

" It now became necessary to provide other means for 
transporting the baggage which we had intended to stow 
in her. For this purpose we shall want two more canoes ; 
but for many miles — - from below the mouth of the Mussel- 
shell River to this place — we have not seen a single tree 
fit to be used in that way. The hunters, however, who 
have hitherto been sent after timber, mention that there 
is a low ground on the opposite side of the river, about 
eight miles above us by land, and more than twice that 
distance by water, in which we may probably find trees 
large enough for our purposes. Captain Clark deter- 
mined, therefore, to set out by land for that place with 
ten of the best workmen, who would be occupied in build- 
ing the canoes till the rest of the party, after taking the 
boat to pieces, and making the necessary deposits, should 
transport the baggage, and join them with the other six 
canoes. 

" He accordingly passed over to the opposite side of 
the river with his party next day, and proceeded on eight 
miles by land, the distance by water being twenty-three 
and three quarter miles. Here he found two cottonwood 



1 26 First Across the Continent 

trees; but, on cutting them down, one proved to be 
hollow, split at the top in falling, and both were much 
damaged at the bottom. He searched the neighbor- 
hood, but could find none which would suit better, and 
therefore was obliged to make use of those which he had 
felled, shortening them in order to avoid the cracks, and 
supplying the deficiency by making them as wide as 
possible. They were equally at a loss for wood of which 
they might make handles for their axes, the eyes of which 
not being round, they were obliged to split the timber in 
such a manner that thirteen of the handles broke in the 
course of the day, though made of the best wood they 
could find for the purpose, which was the chokecherry. 

" The rest of the party took the frame of the boat to 
pieces, deposited it in a cache or hole, with a draught of 
the country from Fort Mandan to this place, and also some 
other papers and small articles of less importance." 

High winds prevented the party from making rapid 
progress, and notwithstanding the winds they were greatly 
troubled with mosquitoes. Lest the reader should think 
the explorers too sensitive on the subject of these trouble- 
some pests, it should be said that only western travellers 
can realize the numbers and venom of the mosquitoes of 
that region. Early emigrants across the continent were 
so afflicted by these insects that the air at times seemed 
full of gray clouds of them. It was the custom of the 
wayfarers to build a " smudge," as it was called, a low, 
smouldering fire of green boughs and brush, the dense 
smoke from which (almost as annoying as the mosquitoes) 
would drive off their persecutors as long as the victims 
sat in the smoke. The sleeping tent was usually cleared 
in this way before " turning in " at night, every opening 
of the canvas being afterwards closed. 



In the Heart of the Continent 



127 



Captain Lewis, on the thirteenth of July, followed Captain 
Clark up the river ; crossing the stream to the north bank, 
with his six canoes and all his baggage, he overtook the 
other party on the same day and found them all engaged 
in boat-building. 

" On his way he passed a very large Indian lodge, which 
was probably designed as a great council-house ; but it 
differed in its construction from all that we had seen, lower 
down the Missouri or elsewhere. The form of it was a 
circle two hundred and sixteen feet in circumference at the 
base ; it was composed of sixteen large cottonwood poles 
about fifty feet long and at their thicker ends, which 
touched the ground, about the size of a man's body. They 
were distributed at equal distances, except that one was 
omitted to the east, probably for the entrance. From the 
circumference of this circle the poles converged toward 
the centre, where they were united and secured by large 
withes of willow-brush. There was no covering over this 
fabric, in the centre of which were the remains of a large 
fire, and around it the marks of about eighty leathern 
lodges. He also saw a number of turtle-doves, and some 
pigeons, of which he shot one, differing in no respect from 
the wild pigeon of the United States. 

" The buffalo have not yet quite gone, for the hunters 
brought in three, in very good order. It requires some 
diligence to supply us plentifully, for as we reserve our 
parched meal for the Rocky Mountains, where we do not 
expect to find much game, our principal article of food is 
meat, and the consumption of the whole thirty-two persons 
belonging to the party amounts to four deer, an elk and a 
deer, or one buff'alo, every twenty-four hours. The mos- 
quitoes and gnats persecute us as violently as below, so that 



128 First Across the Continent 

we can get no sleep unless defended by biers [nets], with 
which we are all provided. We here found several 
plants hitherto unknown to us, of which we preserved 
specimens." 

On the fourteenth of July, the boats were finally launched, 
and next day the journal records this important event : 

" We rose early, embarked all our baggage on board 
the canoes, which, though eight in number, are heavily 
loaded, and at ten o'clock set out on our journey. . . . 
At the distance of seven and a half miles we came to 
the lower point of a woodland, at the entrance of a beauti- 
ful river, which, in honor of the Secretary of the Navy, 
we called Smith's River. This stream falls into a bend on 
the south side of the Missouri, and is eighty yards wide. 
As far as we could discern its course, it wound through 
a charming valley towards the southeast, in which many 
herds of buffalo were feeding, till, at the distance of twenty- 
five miles, it entered the Rocky Mountains and was lost 
from our view. . . . 

" We find the prickly pear, one of the greatest beauties 
as well as greatest inconveniences of the plains, now in full 
bloom. The sunflower, too, a plant common on every 
part of the Missouri from its entrance to this place, is here 
very abundant, and in bloom. The lamb's-quarter, wild 
cucumber, sand-rush, and narrow dock, are also common." 

The journal here records the fact that the great river 
had now become so crooked that it was expedient to note 
only its general course, leaving out all description of its turns 
and windings. The Missouri was now flowing due north, 
leaving its bends out of account, and the explorers, ascend- 
ing the river, were therefore travelling south ; and although 
the journal sets forth " the north bank " and " the south 
bank," it should be understood that west is meant by the 



In the Heart of the Continent 129 

one, and east by the other. Buffalo were observed in great 
numbers. Many obstacles to navigating the river were 
encountered. Under date of July 17, the journal says: 

" The navigation is now very laborious. The river is 
deep, but with little current, and from seventy to one hun- 
dred yards wide ; the low grounds are very narrow, with 
but little timber, and that chiefly the aspen tree. The cliffs 
are steep, and hang over the river so much that often we 
could not cross them, but were obliged to pass and repass 
from one side of the river to the other, in order to make 
our way. In some places the banks are formed of dark 
or black granite rising perpendicularly to a great height, 
through which the river seems, in the progress of time, to 
have worn its channel. On these mountains we see more 
pine than usual, but it is still in small quantities. Along 
the bottoms, which have a covering of high grass, we ob- 
served the sunflower blooming in great abundance. The 
Indians of the Missouri, more especially those who do not 
cultivate maize, make great use of the seed of this plant 
for bread, or in thickening their soup. They first parch 
and then pound it between two stones, until it is reduced 
to a fine meal. Sometimes they add a portion of water, 
and drink it thus diluted; at other times they add a suffi- 
cient proportion of marrow-grease to reduce it to the 
consistency of common dough, and eat it in that manner. 
This last composition we preferred to all the rest, and 
thought it at that time a very palatable dish." 

They also feasted on a great variety of wild berries, — 
purple, yellow, and black currants, which were delicious 
and more pleasant to the palate than those grown in their 
Virginia home-gardens ; also service-berries, popularly 
known to later emigrants as ** sarvice-berries." These 
grow on small bushes, two or three feet high ; and the 

9 



130 First Across the Continent 

fruit is purple-skinned, with a white pulp, resembhng a 
ripe gooseberry. 

The journal, next day, has the following entry: — 

" This morning early, before our departure, we saw a 
large herd of the big-horned animals, which were bound- 
ing among the rocks on the opposite cliff with great agil- 
ity. These inaccessible spots secure them from all their 
enemies, and their only danger is in wandering among 
these precipices, where we would suppose it scarcely pos- 
sible for any animal to stand ; a single false step would 
precipitate them at least five hundred feet into the water. 

" At one and one fourth miles we passed another single 
cHff on the left; at the same distance beyond which is the 
mouth of a large river emptying from the north. It is a 
handsome, bold, and clear stream, eighty yards wide — 
that is, nearly as broad as the Missouri — with a rapid 
current, over a bed of small smooth stones of various 
figures. The water is extremely transparent; the low 
grounds are narrow, but possess as much wood as those 
of the Missouri. The river has every appearance of being 
navigable, though to what distance we cannot ascertain, as 
the country which it waters is broken and mountainous. 
In honor of the Secretary of War we called it Dearborn's 
River." 

General Henry Dearborn, who was then Secretary of 
War, in Jefferson's administration, gave his name, a few 
years later, to a collection of camps and log-cabins on Lake 
Michigan ; and in due time Fort Dearborn became the 
great city of Chicago. Continuing, the journal says: 

" Being now very anxious to meet with the Shoshonees 
or Snake Indians, for the purpose of obtaining the neces- 
sary information of our route, as well as to procure horses, 
it was thought best for one of us to go forward with a small 



In the Heart of the Continent 1 3 1 

party and endeavor to discover them, before the daily dis- 
charge of our guns, which is necessary for our subsistence, 
should give them notice of our approach. If by an acci- 
dent they hear us, they will most probably retreat to the 
mountains, mistaking us for their enemies, who usually 
attack them on this side." 

Captain Clark was now in the lead with a small party, 
and he came upon the remains of several Indian camps 
formed of willow-brush. Traces of Indians became more 
plentiful. The journal adds : — 

" At the same time Captain Clark observed that the 
pine trees had been stripped of their bark about the same 
season, which our Indian woman says her countrymen do 
in order to obtain the sap and the soft parts of the wood 
and bark for food. About eleven o'clock he met a herd of 
elk and killed two of them ; but such was the want of wood 
in the neighborhood that he was unable to procure enough 
to make a fire, and was therefore obliged to substitute the 
dung of the buffalo, with which he cooked his breakfast. 
They then resumed their course along an old Indian road. 
In the afternoon they reached a handsome valley, watered 
by a large creek, both of which extended a considerable 
distance into the mountain. This they crossed, and during 
the evening travelled over a mountainous coimtry covered 
with sharp fragments of flint rock ; these bruised and cut 
their feet very much, but were scarcely less troublesome 
than the prickly-pear of the open plains, which have now 
become so abundant that it is impossible to avoid them, 
and the thorns are so strong that they pierce a double 
sole of dressed deer-skin; the best resource against them 
is a sole of buffalo-hide in parchment [that is, hard dried]. 
At night they reached the river much fatigued, having 



132 First Across the Continent 

passed two mountains in the course of the day, and trav- 
elled thirty miles. Captain Clark's first employment, on 
lighting a fire, was to extract from his feet the thorns, 
which he found seventeen in number." 

The dung of the buffalo, exposed for many years to the 
action of sun, wind, and rain, became as dry and firm as 
the finest compressed hay. As " buffalo chips," in these 
treeless regions, it was the overland emigrants' sole de- 
pendence for fuel. 

The explorers now approached a wonderful pass in the 
Rocky Mountains which their journal thus describes: 

" A mile and a half beyond this creek [Cottonwood 
Creek] the rocks approach the river on both sides, form- 
ing a most sublime and extraordinary spectacle. For five 
and three quarter miles these rocks rise perpendicularly 
from the water's edge to the height of nearly twelve hun- 
dred feet. They are composed of a black granite near 
their base, but from the lighter color above, and from the 
fragments, we suppose the upper part to be flint of a yel- 
lowish brown and cream color. 

" Nothing can be imagined more tremendous than the 
frowning darkness of these rocks, which project over the 
river and menace us with destruction. The river, one hun- 
dred and fifty yards in width, seems to have forced its 
channel down this solid mass; but so reluctantly has it 
given way, that during the whole distance the water is very 
deep even at the edges, and for the first three miles there 
is not a spot, except one of a few yards, in which a man 
could stand between the water and the towering perpen- 
dicular of the mountain. The convulsion of the passage 
must have been terrible, since at its outlet there are vast 
columns of rock torn from the mountain, which are strewed 
on both sides of the river, the trophies, as it were, of its 



In the Heart of the Continent 



133 



victory. Several fine springs burst out from the chasms of 
the rock, and contribute to increase the river, which has a 
strong current, but, very fortunately, we were able to over- 
come it with our oars, since it would have been impossible 
to use either the cord or the pole. We were obliged to go 
on some time after dark, not being able to find a spot large 
enough to encamp on ; but at length, about two miles 
above a small island in the middle of the river, we met 
with a place on the left side, where we procured plenty of 
light wood and pitch pine. This extraordinary range of 
rocks we called the Gates of the Rocky Mountains." 

Some of Captain Clark's men, engaged in hunting, gave 
the alarm to roving bands of Shoshonee Indians, hunting 
in that vicinity. The noise of their guns attracted the 
attention of the Indians, who, having set fire to the grass 
as a warning to their comrades, fled to the mountains. 
The whole country soon appeared to have taken fright, 
and great clouds of smoke were observed in all directions. 
Falling into an old Indian trail. Captain Clark waited, with 
his weary and footsore men, for the rest of the party to 
come up with them. 

The explorers had now passed south, between the Big 
Belt range of mountains on the east and the main chain 
of the Rocky Mountains on the west. Meagher County, 
Montana, now lies on the east of their trail, and on the 
west side of that route is the county of Lewis and Clark. 
They were now — still travelling southward — approaching 
the ultimate sources of the great Missouri. The journal 
says : — 

" We are delighted to find that the Indian woman recog- 
nizes the country ; she tells us that to this creek her coun- 
trymen make excursions to procure white paint on its 
banks, and we therefore call it Whiteearth Creek. She 



1 34 First Across the Continent 

says also that the Three Forks of the Missouri are at no 
great distance — a piece of intelligence which has cheered 
the spirits of us all, as we hope soon to reach the head of 
that river. This is the warmest day, except one, we have 
experienced this summer. In the shade the mercury stood 
at eighty degrees, which is the second time it has reached 
that height during this season. We camped on an island, 
after making nineteen and three quarters miles. 

" In the course of the day we saw many geese, cranes, 
small birds common to the plains, and a few pheasants. 
We also observed a small plover or curlew of a brown 
color, about the size of a yellow-legged plover or jack- 
curlew, but of a different species. It first appeared near 
the mouth of Smith's River, but is so shy and vigilant that 
we were unable to shoot it. Both the broad and narrow- 
leaved willow continue, though the sweet willow has be- 
come very scarce. The rosebush, small honeysuckle, 
pulpy-leaved thorn, southernwood, sage, box-elder, narrow- 
leaved Cottonwood, redwood, and a species of sumach, are 
all abundant. So, too, are the red and black gooseberries, 
service-berry, choke-cherry, and the black, yellow, red, and 
purple currants, which last seems to be a favorite food of 
the bear. Before camping we landed and took on board 
Captain Clark, with the meat he had collected during this 
day's hunt, which consisted of one deer and an elk; we 
had, ourselves, shot a deer and an antelope." 

The party found quantities of wild onions of good flavor 
and size. They also observed wild flax, garlic, and other 
vegetable products of value. The journal adds : — 

" We saw many otter and beaver to-day [July 24th], 
The latter seem to contribute very much to the number 
of islands, and the widening of the river. They begin by 
damming up the small channels of about twenty yards be- 



In the Heart of the Continent 135 

twecn the islands : this obliges the river to seek another 
outlet, and, as soon as this is efifected, the channel stopped 
by the beaver becomes filled with mud and sand. The 
industrious animal is then driven to another channel, which 
soon shares the same fate, till the river spreads on all sides, 
and cuts the projecting points of the land into islands. 
We killed a deer, and saw great numbers of antelopes, 
cranes, some geese, and a few red-headed ducks. The 
small birds of the plains and the curlew are still abundant: 
we saw a large bear, but could not come within gunshot 
of him. There are numerous tracks of the elk, but none 
of the animals themselves ; and, from the appearance of 
bones and old excrement, we suppose that buffalo some- 
times stray into the valley, though we have as yet seen no 
recent sign of them. Along the water are a number of 
snakes, some of a uniform brown color, others black, and 
a third speckled on the abdomen, and striped with black 
and a brownish yellow on the back and sides. The first, 
which is the largest, is about four feet long ; the second is 
of the kind mentioned yesterday ; and the third resembles in 
size and appearance the garter-snake of the United States. 
On examining the teeth of all these several kinds, we 
found them free from poison : they are fond of the water, 
in which they take shelter on being pursued. The mos- 
quitoes, gnats, and prickly pear, our three persecutors, still 
continue with us, and, joined with the labor of working 
the canoes, have fatigued us all excessively." 

On Thursday, July 25, Captain Clark, who was in the 
lead, as usual, arrived at the famous Three Forks of the 
Missouri. The stream flowing in a generally northeast- 
ern direction was the true, or principal Missouri, and was 
named the Jefferson. The middle branch was named the 
Madison, in honor of James Madison, then Secretary of 



136 First Across the Continent 

State, and the fork next to the eastward received the name 
of Albert Gallatin, then Secretary of the Treasury; and 
by these titles the streams are known to this day. The 
explorers had now passed down to their furthest southern 
limit, their trail being to the eastward of the modern cities 
of Helena and Butte, and separated only by a narrow 
divide (then unknown to them) from the sources of some 
of the streams that fall into the Pacific Ocean. Under the 
date of July 27, the journal says : — 

" We are now very anxious to see the Snake Indians. 
After advancing for several hundred miles into this wild 
and mountainous country, we may soon expect that the 
game will abandon us. With no information of the route, 
we may be unable to find a passage across the mountains 
when we reach the head of the river — at least, such a pass 
as will lead us to the Columbia. Even are we so fortunate 
as to find a branch of that river, the timber which we have 
hitherto seen in these mountains does not promise us any 
fit to make canoes, so that our chief dependence is on 
meeting some tribe from whom we may procure horses. 
Our consolation is that this southwest branch can scarcely 
head with any other river than the Columbia ; and that if 
any nation of Indians can live in the mountains we are able 
to endure as much as they can, and have even better means 
of procuring subsistence." 



Chapter XII 
At the Sources of the Missouri 

THE explorers were now (in the last days of July, 
1805) at the head of the principal sources of the 
great Missouri River, in the fastnesses of the Rocky 
Mountains, at the base of the narrow divide that sepa- 
rates Idaho from Montana in its southern corner. Just 
across this divide are the springs that feed streams fall- 
ing into the majestic Columbia and then to the Pacific 
Ocean. As has been already set forth, they named the 
Three Forks for President Jefferson and members of his 
cabinet. These names still survive, although Jefferson 
River is the true Missouri and not a fork of that stream. 
Upon the forks of the Jefferson Lewis bestowed the titles 
of Philosophy, Wisdom, and Philanthropy, each of these 
gifts and graces being, in his opinion, "an attribute of 
that illustrious personage, Thomas Jefferson," then Presi- 
dent of the United States. But alas for the fleeting 
greatness of geographical honor! Philosophy River is 
now known as Willow Creek, and at its mouth, a busy 
little railroad town, is Willow City. The northwest 
fork is no longer Wisdom, but Big Hole River; deep 
valleys among the mountains are known as holes; and 
the stream called by that name, once Wisdom, is fol- 
lowed along its crooked course by a railroad that con- 
nects Dillon, Silver Bow, and Butte City, Montana. 
Vulgarity does its worst for Philanthropy; its modern 
name on the map is Stinking Water. 



138 



First Across the Continent 



On the thirtieth of July, the party, having camped long 
enough to unpack and dry their goods, dress their deer- 
skins and make them into leggings and moccasins, re- 
loaded their canoes and began the toilsome ascent of the 
Jefferson. The journal makes this record: — 

" Sacajawea, our Indian woman, informs us that we are 
encamped on the precise spot where her countrymen, the 
Snake Indians, had their huts five years ago, when the 
Minnetarees of Knife River first came in sight of them, 
and from whom they hastily retreated three miles up the 
Jefferson, and concealed themselves in the woods. The 
Minnetarees, however, pursued and attacked them, killed 
four men, as many women, and a number of boys; and 
made prisoners of four other boys and all the females, of 
whom Sacajawea was one. She does not, however, show 
any distress at these recollections, nor any joy at the 
prospect of being restored to her country; for she seems 
to possess the folly, or the philosophy, of not suffering 
her feelings to extend beyond the anxiety of having 
plenty to eat and a few trinkets to wear. 

"This morning the hunters brought in some fat deer 
of the long-tailed red kind, which are quite as large as 
those of the United States, and are, indeed, the only 
kind we have found at this place. There are numbers of 
the sand-hill cranes feeding in the meadows: we caught 
a young one of the same color as the red deer, which, 
though it had nearly attained its full growth, could not 
fly; it is very fierce, and strikes a severe blow with its 
beak. . . . 

"Captain Lewis proceeded after dinner through an 
extensive low ground of timber and meadow-land inter- 
mixed ; but the bayous were so obstructed by beaver-dams 
that, in order to avoid them, he directed his course 



At the Sources of the Missouri 139 

toward the high plain on the right. This he gained with 
some difficulty, after wading up to his waist through the 
mud and water of a number of beaver-dams. When he 
desired to rejoin the canoes he found the underbrush so 
thick, and the river so crooked, that this, joined to the 
difficulty of passing the beaver-dams, induced him to go 
on and endeavor to intercept the river at some point 
where it might be more collected into one channel, and 
approach nearer the high plain. He arrived at the bank 
about sunset, having gone only six miles in a direct 
course from the canoes ; but he saw no traces of the men, 
nor did he receive any answer to his shouts and the firing 
of his gun. It was now nearly dark; a duck lighted near 
him, and he shot it. He then went on the head of a small 
island, where he found some driftwood, which enabled 
him to cook his duck for supper, and laid down to sleep 
on some willow-brush. The night was cool, but the 
driftwood gave him a good fire, and he suffered no incon- 
venience, except from the mosquitoes." 

The easy indifference to discomfort with which these 
well-seasoned pioneers took their hardships must needs 
impress the reader. It was a common thing for men, or 
for a solitary man, to be caught out of camp by nightfall 
and compelled to bivouac, like Captain Lewis, in the 
underbrush, or the prairie-grass. As they pressed on, 
game began to fail them. Under date of July 31, they 
remark that the only game seen that day was one big- 
horn, a few antelopes, deer, and a brown bear, all of 
which escaped them. "Nothing was killed to-day," it is 
recorded, " nor have we had any fresh meat except one 
beaver for the last two days ; so that we are now reduced 
to an unusual situation, for we have hitherto always had 
a great abundance of flesh." Indeed, one reason for this 



140 First Across the Continent 

is found in Captain Lewis's remark: "When we have 
plenty of fresh meat, I find it impossible to make the 
men take any care of it, or use it with the least frugality, 
though I expect that necessity will shortly teach them 
this art." We shall see, later on, that the men, who 
were really as improvident of food as the Indians, had 
hard lessons from necessity. 

Anxious to reach the Indians, who were believed to be 
somewhere ahead of them, Captain Lewis and three men 
went on up the Jefferson, Captain Clark and his party 
following with the canoes and luggage in a more leisurely 
manner. The advance party were so fortunate as to over- 
take a herd of elk, two of which they killed ; what they 
did not eat they left secured for the other party with the 
canoes. Clark's men also had good luck in hunting, for 
they killed five deer and one bighorn. Neither party 
found fresh tracks of Indians, and they were greatly dis- 
couraged thereat. The journal speaks of a beautiful 
valley, from six to eight miles wide, where they saw 
ancient traces of buffalo occupation, but no buffalo. 
These animals had now completely disappeared; they 
were seldom seen in those mountains. The journal says 
of Lewis : — 

" He saw an abundance of deer and antelope, and many 
tracks of elk and bear. Having killed two deer, they 
feasted sumptuously, with a dessert of currants of differ- 
ent colors — two species red, others yellow, deep purple, 
and black; to these were added black gooseberries and 
deep purple service-berries, somewhat larger than ours, 
from which they differ also in color, size, and the supe- 
rior excellence of their flavor. In the low grounds of the 
river were many beaver-dams formed of willow-brush, 
mud, and gravel, so closely interwoven that they resist 



At the Sources of the Missouri 1 4 1 

the water perfectly; some of them were five feet high, and 
caused the river to overflow several acres of land." 

Meanwhile, the party with the canoes were having a 
fatiguing time as they toiled up the river. On the fourth 
of August, after they had made only fifteen miles, the 
journal has this entry : — 

"The river is still rapid, and the water, though clear, 
is very much obstructed by shoals or ripples at every two 
hundred or three hundred yards. At all these places we 
are obliged to drag the canoes over the stones, as there is 
not a sufficient depth of water to float them, and in the 
other parts the current obliges us to have recourse to 
the cord. But as the brushwood on the banks will not 
permit us to walk on shore, we are under the necessity 
of wading through the river as we drag the boats. This 
soon makes our feet tender, and sometimes occasions 
severe falls over the slippery stones; and the men, by 
being constantly wet, are becoming more feeble. In the 
course of the day the hunters killed two deer, some geese 
and ducks, and the party saw some antelopes, cranes, 
beaver, and otter." 

Captain Lewis had left a note for Captain Clark at the 
forks of the Jefferson and Wisdom rivers. Clark's jour- 
nal says : — 

" We arrived at the forks about four o'clock, but, un- 
luckily. Captain Lewis's note had been attached to a 
green pole, which the beaver had cut down, and carried 
off with the note on it : an accident which deprived us of 
all information as to the character of the two branches of 
the river. Observing, therefore, that the northwest fork 
was most in our direction, we ascended it. We found it 
extremely rapid, and its waters were scattered in such a 
manner that for a quarter of a mile we were forced to cut 



142 First Across the Continent 

a passage through the willow-brush that leaned over the 
little channels and united at the top. After going up it 
for a mile, we encamped on an island which had been 
overflowed, and was still so wet that we were compelled 
to make beds of brush to keep ourselves out of the mud. 
Our provision consisted of two deer which had been 
killed in the morning." 

It should be borne in mind that this river, up which 
the party were making their way, was the Wisdom (now 
Big Hole), and was the northwest fork of the Jefferson, 
flowing from southeast to northwest ; and near the point 
where it enters the Jefferson, it has a loop toward the 
northeast ; that is to say, it comes from the southwest to 
a person looking up its mouth. 

After going up the Wisdom River, Clark's party were 
overtaken by Drewyer, Lewis's hunter, who had been 
sent across between the forks to notify Clark that Lewis 
regarded the other fork — the main Jefferson — as the 
right course to take. The party, accordingly, turned 
about and began to descend the stream, in order to 
ascend the Jefferson. The journal says: — 

" On going down, one of the canoes upset and two 
others filled with water, by which all the baggage was 
wet and several articles were irrecoverably lost. As one 
of them swung round in a rapid current, Whitehouse was 
thrown out of her; while down, the canoe passed over 
him, and had the water been two inches shallower would 
have crushed him to pieces; but he escaped with a severe 
bruise of his leg. In order to repair these misfortunes 
we hastened [down] to the forks, where we were joined 
by Captain Lewis. We then passed over to the left 
[east] side, opposite the entrance of the rapid fork, and 



At the Sources of the Missouri 143 

camped on a large gravelly bar, near which there was 
plenty of wood. Here we opened, and exposed to dry, 
all the articles which had suffered from the water; none 
of them were completely spoiled except a small keg of 
powder; the rest of the powder, which was distributed 
in the different canoes, was quite safe, although it had 
been under the water for upward of an hour. The air is 
indeed so pure and dry that any wood-work immediately 
shrinks, unless it is kept filled with water; but we had 
placed our powder in small canisters of lead, each con- 
taining powder enough for the canister when melted into 
bullets, and secured with cork and wax, which answered 
our purpose perfectly. 

"In the evening we killed three deer and four elk, 
which furnished us once more with a plentiful supply of 
meat. Shannon, the same man who had been lost for 
fifteen days [August 28 to Sept. 11, 1804], was sent 
out this morning to hunt, up the northwest fork. When 
we decided on returning, Drewyer was directed to go in 
quest of him, but he returned with information that he 
had gone several miles up the [Wisdom] river without 
being able to find Shannon. We now had the trumpet 
sounded, and fired several guns; but he did not return, 
and we fear he is again lost." 

This man, although an expert hunter, had an unlucky 
habit of losing himself in the wilderness, as many another 
good man has lost, himself among the mountains or the 
great plains. This time, however, he came into camp 
again, after being lost three days. 

On the eighth of August the party reached a point now 
known by its famous landmark, Beaver Head, a remark- 
able rocky formation which gives its name to Beaver- 



144 First Across the Continent 

head County, Montana. The Indian woman, Sacajawea, 
recognized the so-called beaver-head, which, she said, 
was not far from the summer retreat of her countrymen, 
living on the other side of the mountains. The whole 
party were now together again, the men with the canoes 
having come up; and the journal says: — 

" Persuaded of the absolute necessity of procuring 
horses to cross the mountains, it was determined that 
one of us should proceed in the morning to the head of 
the river, and penetrate the mountains till he found the 
Shoshonees or some other nation who can assist us in 
transporting our baggage, the greater part of which we 
shall be compelled to leave without the aid of horses." . . . 

Early the next day Captain Lewis took Drewyer, 
Shields, and M'Neal, and, slinging their knapsacks, 
they set out with a resolution to meet some nation of 
Indians before they returned, however long they might 
be separated from the party. 

The party in the canoes continued to ascend the 
river, which was so crooked that they advanced but four 
miles in a direct line from their starting-place in a dis- 
tance of eleven miles. In this manner, the party on 
foot leading those with the canoes, they repeatedly ex- 
plored the various forks of the streams, which baffled 
them by their turnings and windings. Lewis was in 
the advance, and Clark brought up the rear with the 
main body. It was found necessary for the leading 
party to wade the streams, and occasionally they were 
compelled by the roughness of the way to leave the 
water-course and take to the hills, where great vigilance 
was required to keep them in sight of the general direc- 
tion in which they muit travel. On the nth of August, 
1805, Captain Lewis came in sight of the first Indian en- 



At the Sources of the Missouri 145 

countered since leaving the country of the Minnetarees, 
far back on the Missouri. The journal of that date says: 

"On examining him with the glass Captain Lewis saw 
that he was of a different nation from any Indians we had 
hitherto met. He was armed with a bow and a quiver 
of arrows, and mounted on an elegant horse without a 
saddle; a small string attached to the under jaw answered 
as a bridle. 

" Convinced that he was a Shoshonee, and knowing 
how much our success depended on the friendly offices 
of that nation, Captain Lewis was full of anxiety to ap- 
proach without alarming him, and endeavor to convince 
him that he [Lewis] was a white man. He therefore 
proceeded toward the Indian at his usual pace. When 
they were within a mile of each other the Indian sud- 
denly stopped. Captain Lewis immediately followed his 
example, took his blanket from his knapsack, and, hold- 
ing it with both hands at the two corners, threw it above 
his head, and unfolded it as he brought it to the ground, 
as if in the act of spreading it. This signal, which 
originates in the practice of spreading a robe or skin as 
a seat for guests to whom they wish to show a distin- 
guished kindness, is the universal sign of friendship 
among the Indians on the Missouri and the Rocky Moun- 
tains. As usual. Captain Lewis repeated this signal 
three times: still the Indian kept his position, and looked 
with an air of suspicion on Drewyer and Shields, who 
were now advancing on each side. Captain Lewis was 
afraid to make any signal for them to halt, lest he should 
increase the distrust of the Indian, who began to be 
uneasy, and they were too distant to hear his voice. He 
therefore took from his pack some beads, a looking-glass, 
and a few trinkets, which he liad brought for the purpose, 



146 First Across the Continent 

and, leaving his gun, advanced unarmed towards the 
Indian. He remained in the same position till Captain 
Lewis came within two hundred yards of him, when he 
turned his horse and began to move off slowly. Captain 
Lewis then called out to him in as loud a voice as he 
could, repeating the words tabba bone, which in the 
Shoshonee language mean white man. But, looking over 
his shoulder, the Indian kept his eyes on Drewyer and 
Shields, who were still advancing, without recollecting 
the impropriety of doing so at such a moment, till Cap- 
tain Lewis made a signal to them to halt : this Drewyer 
obeyed, but Shields did not observe it, and still went for- 
ward. Seeing Drewyer halt, the Indian turned his horse 
about as if to wait for Captain Lewis, who now reached 
within one hundred and fifty paces, repeating the words 
tabba bone, and holding up the trinkets in his hand, at 
the same time stripping up the sleeve of his shirt to show 
the color of his skin. The Indian suffered him to ad- 
vance within one hundred paces, then suddenly turned his 
horse, and, giving him the whip, leaped across the creek, 
and disappeared in an instant among the willow bushes : 
with him vanished all the hopes which the sight of him had 
inspired, of a friendly introduction to his countrymen." 

Sadly disappointed by the clumsy imprudence of his 
men. Captain Lewis now endeavored to follow the track 
of the retreating Indian, hoping that this might lead 
them to an encampment, or village, of the Shoshonees. 
He also built a fire, the smoke of which might attract the 
attention of the Indians. At the same time, he placed 
on a pole near the fire a small assortment of beads, 
trinkets, awls, and paints, in order that the Indians, if 
they returned that way, might discover them and be 
thereby assured the strangers were white men and friends. 




Shoshonee Implements 



At the Sources of the Missouri 147 

Next morning, while trying to follow the trail of the 
lone Indian, they found traces of freshly turned earth 
where people had been digging for roots ; and, later on, 
they came upon the fresh track of eight or ten horses. 
But these were soon scattered, and the explorers only 
found that the general direction of the trails was up into 
the mountains which define the boundary between Mon- 
tana and Idaho. Skirting the base of these mountains 
(the Bitter Root), the party endeavored to find a plain 
trail, or Indian road, leading up to a practicable pass. 
Travelling in a southwesterly direction along the main 
stream, they entered a valley which led into the moun- 
tains. Here they ate their last bit of fresh meat, the 
remainder of a deer they had killed a day or two before; 
they reserved for their final resort, in case of famine, a 
small piece of salt pork. The journal says : — ■ 

" They then continued through the low bottom, along 
the main stream, near the foot of the mountains on their 
right. For the first five miles, the valley continues 
toward the southwest, being from two to three miles in 
width; then the main stream, which had received two 
small branches from the left in the valley, turned abruptly 
to the west through a narrow bottom between the moun- 
tains. The road was still plain, and, as it led them 
directly on toward the mountain, the stream gradually 
became smaller, till, after going two miles, it had so 
greatly diminished in width that one of the men, in a fit 
of enthusiasm, with one foot on each side of the river, 
thanked God that he had lived to bestride the Missouri. 
As they went along their hopes of soon seeing the 
Columbia [that is, the Pacific watershed] arose almost to 
painful anxiety, when after four miles from the last 
abrupt turn of the river [which turn had been to the 



148 First Across the Continent 

west], they reached a small gap formed by the high 
mountains, which recede on each side, leaving room for 
the Indian road. From the foot of one of the lowest of 
these mountains, which rises with a gentle ascent of about 
half a mile, issues the remotest water of the Missouri. 

"They had now reached the hidden sources of that 
river, which had never yet been seen by civilized man. 
As they quenched their thirst at the chaste and icy foun- 
tain— as they sat down by the brink of that little rivulet, 
which yielded its distant and modest tribute to the 
parent ocean — they felt themselves rewarded for all 
their labors and all their difficulties. 

"They left reluctantly this interesting spot, and, pursu- 
ing the Indian road through the interval of the hills, 
arrived at the top of a ridge, from which they saw high 
mountains, partially covered with snow, still to the west 
of them, 

"The ridge on which they stood formed the dividing 
line between the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific 
Oceans. They followed a descent much steeper than 
that on the eastern side, and at the distance of three- 
quarters of a mile reached a handsome, bold creek of 
cold, clear water running to the westward. They stopped 
to taste, for the first time, the waters of the Columbia; 
and, after a few minutes, followed the road across steep 
hills and low hollows, when they came to a spring on the 
side of a mountain. Here they found a sufficient quan- 
tity of dry willow-brush for fuel, and therefore halted for 
the night; and, having killed nothing in the course of 
the day, supped on their last piece of pork, and trusted 
to fortune for some other food to mix with a little flour 
and parched meal, which was all that now remained of 
their provisions." 



CJiapter XIII 
From the Minnetarees to the Shoshonees 

TRAVELLING in a westerly direction, with a very 
gradual descent, Captain Lewis, on the thirteenth 
of August, came upon two Indian women, a man, and some 
dogs. The Indians sat down when the strangers first 
came in sight, as if to wait for their coming; but, soon 
taking alarm, they all fled, much to the chagrin of the 
white men. Now striking into a well-worn Indian road, 
they found themselves surely near a village. The journal 
says : — 

"They had not gone along the road more than a mile, 
when on a sudden they saw three female Indians, from 
whom they had been concealed by the deep ravines which 
intersected the road, till they were now within thirty 
paces of each other. One of them, a young woman, 
immediately took to flight; the other two, an elderly 
woman and a little girl, seeing they were too near for 
them to escape, sat on the ground, and holding down 
their heads seemed as if reconciled to the death which 
they supposed awaited them. The same habit of holding 
down the head and inviting the enemy to strike, when 
all chance of escape is gone, is preserved in Egypt to 
this day. 

" Captain Lewis instantly put down his rifle, and advanc- 
ing toward them, took the woman by the hand, raised her 
up, and repeated the words ' tabba bone ! ' at the same 



150 First Across the Continent 

time stripping up his shirt-sleeve to prove that he was a 
white man — for his hands and face had become by con- 
stant exposure quite as dark as their own. She appeared 
immediately relieved from her alarm ; and Drewyer and 
Shields now coming up, Captain Lewis gave them some 
beads, a few awls, pewter mirrors, and a little paint, and 
told Drewyer to request the woman to recall her com- 
panion, who had escaped to some distance and, by alarm- 
ing the Indians, might cause them to attack him without 
any time for explanation. She did as she was desired, 
and the young woman returned almost out of breath. 
Captain Lewis gave her an equal portion of trinkets, 
and painted the tawny cheeks of all three of them with 
vermilion, — a ceremony which among the Shoshonees 
is emblematic of peace. 

" After they had become composed, he informed them 
by signs of his wishes to go to their camp, in order to see 
their chiefs and warriors ; they readily obeyed, and con- 
ducted the party along the same road down the river. In 
this way they marched two miles, when they met a troop 
of nearly sixty warriors, mounted on excellent horses, 
riding at full speed toward them. As they advanced 
Captain Lewis put down his gun, and went with the flag 
about fifty paces in advance. The chief, who with two 
men was riding in front of the main body, spoke to the 
women, who now explained that the party was composed 
of white men, and showed exultingly the presents they 
had received. The three men immediately leaped from 
their horses, came up to Captain Lewis, and embraced 
him with great cordiality, putting their left arm over his 
right shoulder, and clasping his back, applying at the 
same time their left cheek to his, and frequently vocif- 
erating ah hi e ! ah hi e ! ' I am much pleased, I am 



From the Minnetarees to the Shoshonees i 5 1 

much rejoiced. ' The whole body of warriors now came 
forward, and our men received the caresses, and no small 
share of the grease and paint, of their new friends. After 
this fraternal embrace, of which the motive was much 
more agreeable than the manner, Captain Lewis lighted 
a pipe, and offered it to the Indians, who had now seated 
themselves in a circle around the party. But, before 
they would receive this mark of friendship, they pulled 
off their moccasins : a custom, as we afterward learned, 
which indicates the sacred sincerity of their professions 
when they smoke with a stranger, and which imprecates 
on themselves the misery of going barefoot forever if 
they prove faithless to their words — a penalty by no 
means light for those who rove over the thorny plains of 
this country. . . . 

"After smoking a few pipes, some trifling presents 
were distributed among them, with which they seemed 
very much pleased, particularly with the blue beads and 
the vermilion. Captain Lewis then stated to the chief 
that the object of his visit was friendly, and should be 
explained as soon as he reached their camp; and that, as 
the sun was oppressive, and no water near, he wished to 
go there as soon as possible. They now put on their 
moccasins, and their chief, whose name was Cameahwait, 
made a short speech to the warriors. Captain Lewis 
then gave him the flag, which he informed him was 
among white men the emblem of peace; and, now that 
he had received it, was to be in future the bond of union 
between them. The chief then moved on ; our party fol- 
lowed him; and the rest of the warriors, in a squadron, 
brought up the rear." 

Arriving at the village, the ceremony of smoking the 
pipe of peace was solemnly observed; and the women 



152 First Across the Continent 

and children of the tribe were permitted to gaze with 
wonder on the first white men they had ever seen. The 
Indians were not much better provided with food than 
were their half-famished visitors. But some cakes made 
of service-berries and choke-berries dried in the sun were 
presented to the white men "on which," says Captain 
Lewis, "we made a hearty meal." Later in the day, 
however, an Indian invited Captain Lewis into his wig- 
wam and treated him to a small morsel of boiled antelope 
and a piece of fresh salmon roasted. This was the first 
salmon he had seen, and the captain was now assured 
that he was on the headwaters of the Columbia. This 
stream was what is now known as the Lemhi River. 
The water was clear and limpid, flowing down a bed of 
gravel ; its general direction was a little north of west. 
The journal says: — 

"The chief informed him that this stream discharged, 
at the distance of half a day's march, into another [Salmon 
River] of twice its size, coming from the southwest; but 
added, on further inquiry, that there was scarcely more 
timber below the junction of those rivers than in this 
neighborhood, and that the river was rocky, rapid, and 
so closely confined between high mountains that it was 
impossible to pass down it either by land or water to the 
great lake [Pacific Ocean], where, as he had understood, 
the white men lived. 

"This information was far from being satisfactory, for 
there was no timber here that would answer the purpose 
of building canoes, — indeed not more than just sufficient 
for fuel; and even that consisted of the narrow-leaved 
Cottonwood, the red and the narrow-leaved willow, choke- 
cherry, service-berry, and a few currant bushes, such as 
are common on the Missouri. The prospect of going on 



From the Minnetarees to the Shoshonees 



'53 



by land is more pleasant, for there are great numbers of 
horses feeding in every direction round the camp, which 
will enable us to transport our stores, if necessary, over 
the mountains." 

While Captain Lewis was thus engaged, his compan- 
ions in the canoes were slowly and laboriously ascending 
the river on the other side of the divide. The character 
of the stream was much as it had been for several days, 
and the men were in the water three-fourths of the time, 
dragging the boats over the shoals. They had but little 
success in killing game, but caught, as they had done for 
some days before, numbers of fine trout. 

"August 14. In order to give time for the boats to 
reach the forks of Jefferson River," proceeds the narra- 
tive, "Captain Lewis determined to remain where he 
was, and obtain all the information he could collect in 
regard to the country. Having nothing to eat but a 
little flour and parched meal, with the berries of the 
Indians, he sent out Drewyer and Shields, who borrowed 
horses from the natives, to hunt for a few hours. About 
the same time the young warriors set out for the same 
purpose. There are but few elk or black tailed deer in 
this neighborhood; and as the common red deer secrete 
themselves in the bushes when alarmed, they are soon 
safe from the arrows, which are but feeble weapons 
against any animals which the huntsmen cannot previ- 
ously run down with their horses. The chief game of 
the Shoshonees, therefore, is the antelope, which, when 
pursued, retreats to the open plains, where the horses 
have full room for the chase. But such is its extraordi- 
nary fleetness and wind, that a single horse has no pos- 
sible chance of outrunning it or tiring it down, and the 
hunters are therefore obliged to resort to stratagem. 



154 First Across the Continent 

" About twenty Indians, mounted on fine horses, and 
armed with bows and arrows, left the camp. In a short 
time they descried a herd of ten antelope : they imme- 
diately separated into little squads of two or three, and 
formed a scattered circle round the herd for five or six 
miles, keeping at a wary distance, so as not to alarm 
them till they were perfectly enclosed, and selecting, as 
far as possible, some commanding eminence as a stand. 
Having gained their positions, a small party rode towards 
the animals, and with wonderful dexterity the huntsmen 
preserved their seats, and the horses their footing, as 
they ran at full speed over the hills, down the steep 
ravines, and along the borders of the precipices. They 
were soon outstripped by the antelopes, which, on gain- 
ing the other extremity of the circle, were driven back 
and pursued by the fresh hunters. They turned and 
flew, rather than ran, in another direction; but there, 
too, they found new enemies. In this way they were 
alternately pursued backward and forward, till at length, 
notwithstanding the skill of the hunters, they all escaped; 
and the party, after running for two hours, returned with- 
out having caught anything, and their horses foaming 
with sweat. This chase, the greater part of which was 
seen from the camp, formed a beautiful scene; but to the 
hunters it is exceedingly laborious, and so unproductive, 
even when they are able to worry the animal down and 
shoot him, that forty or fifty hunters will sometimes be 
engaged for half a day without obtaining more than two 
or three antelope. 

" Soon after they returned, our two huntsmen came in 
with no better success. Captain Lewis therefore made a 
little paste with the flour, and the addition of some berries 
formed a very palatable repast. Having now secured the 



From the Minnetarees to the Shoshonees 155 

good will of Cameahwait, Captain Lewis informed him 
of his wish that he would speak to the warriors, and 
endeavor to engage them to accompany him to the forks 
of Jefferson River; where by this time another chief 
[Clark], with a large party of white men, was awaiting 
his [Lewis'] return; that it would be necessary to take 
about thirty horses to transport the merchandise; that 
they should be well rewarded for their trouble; and that, 
when all the party should have reached the Shoshonee 
camp, they would remain some time among them to trade 
for horses, as well as concert plans for furnishing them 
in future with regular supplies of merchandise. He 
readily consented to do so, and after collecting the tribe 
together, he made a long harangue. In about an hour 
and a half he returned, and told Captain Lewis that they 
would be ready to accompany him in the morning." 

But the Indians were suspicious and reluctant to take 
the word of the white man. Captain Lewis, almost at 
his wits' end, appealed to their courage. He said that 
if they were afraid of being led into a trap, he was sure 
that some among them were not afraid. 

"To doubt the courage of an Indian is to touch the 
tenderest string of his mind, and the surest way to rouse 
him to any dangerous achievement. Cameahwait instantly 
replied that he was not afraid to die, and mounting his 
horse, for the third time harangued the warriors. He 
told them that he was resolved to go if he went alone, or 
if he were sure of perishing; that he hoped there were 
among those who heard him some who were not afraid to 
die, and who would prove it by mounting their horses 
and following him. This harangue produced an effect on 
six or eight only of the warriors, who now joined their 
chief. With these Captain Lewis smoked a pipe; and 



156 First Across the Continent 

then, fearful of some change in their capricious temper, 
set out immediately." 

The party now retraced the steps so lately taken by 
Captain Lewis and his men. On the second day out, 
one of the spies sent forward by the Indians came madly 
galloping back, much to the alarm of the white men. It 
proved, however, that the spy had returned to tell his 
comrades that one of the white hunters [Drewyer] had 
killed a deer. An Indian riding behind Captain Lewis, 
fearful that he should not get his share of the spoil, 
jumped off the horse and ran for a mile at full speed. 
The journal says: — 

"Captain Lewis slackened his pace, and followed at a 
sufficient distance to observe them. When they reached 
the place where Drewyer had thrown out the intestines, 
they all dismounted in confusion and ran tumbling over 
each other like famished dogs. Each tore away what- 
ever part he could, and instantly began to eat it. Some 
had the liver, some the kidneys — in short, no part on 
which we are accustomed to look with disgust escaped 
them. One of them, who had seized about nine feet of 
the entrails, was chewing at one end, while with his 
hand he was diligently clearing his way by discharging 
the contents at the other. It was indeed impossible to 
see these wretches ravenously feeding on the filth of ani- 
mals, the blood streaming from their mouths, without 
deploring how nearly the condition of savages approaches 
that of the brute creation. Yet, though suffering with 
hunger, they did not attempt, as they might have done, 
to take by force the whole deer, but contented them- 
selves with what had been thrown away by the hunter. 
Captain Lewis now had the deer skinned, and after 
reserving a quarter of it gave the rest of the animal to the 



From the Minnetarees to the Shoshonees 157 

chief, to be divided among the Indians, who immediately 
devoured nearly the whole of it without cooking. They 
now went toward the [Prairie] creek, where there was 
some brushwood to make a fire, and found Drewyer, who 
had killed a second deer. The same struggle for the 
entrails was renewed here, and on giving nearly the 
whole deer to the Indians, they devoured it even to 
the soft part of the hoofs. A fire being made. Captain 
Lewis had his breakfast, during which Drewyer brought 
in a third deer. This too, after reserving one-quarter, 
was given to the Indians, who now seemed completely 
satisfied and in good humor." 

They now approached the forks of the Jefferson, where 
they had expected to meet Clark and his party with the 
canoes. Not seeing any signs of them, the Lewis party 
were placed in a critical position. The Indians were 
again alarmed and suspicious. Here Captain Clark's 
journal says : — 

"As they went on towards the point. Captain Lewis, 
perceiving how critical his situation had become, re- 
solved to attempt a stratagem, which his present diffi- 
culty seemed completely to justify. Recollecting the 
notes he had left at the point for us, he sent Drewyer 
for them with an Indian, who witnessed his taking them 
from the pole. When they were brought, Captain Lewis 
told Cameahwait that, on leaving his brother chief at the 
place where the river issues from the mountains, it was 
agreed that the boats should not be brought higher than 
the next forks we should meet ; but that, if the rapid 
water prevented the boats from coming on as fast as they 
expected, his brother chief was to send a note to the first 
forks above him, to let him know where they were : that 
this note had been left this morning at the forks, and 



158 



First Across the Continent 



mentioned that the canoes were just below the moun- 
tains, and coming up slowly in consequence of the cur- 
rent. Captain Lewis added that he would stay at the 
forks for his brother chief, but would send a man down 
the river; and that if Cameahwait doubted what he said, 
one of their young men could go with him, while he and 
the other two remained at the forks. This story satis- 
fied the chief and the greater part of the Indians; but 
a few did not conceal their suspicions, observing that we 
told different stories, and complaining that their chief 
exposed them to danger by a mistaken confidence. Cap- 
tain Lewis now wrote, by the light of some willow-brush, 
a note to Captain Clark, which he gave to Drewyer, with 
an order to use all possible expedition in descending the 
river, and engaged an Indian to accompany him by the 
promise of a knife and some beads. 

"At bedtime the chief and five others slept round the 
fire of Captain Lewis, and the rest hid themselves in 
different parts of the willow-brush to avoid the enemy, 
who, they feared, would attack them in the night. Cap- 
tain Lewis endeavored to assume a cheerfulness he did 
not feel, to prevent the despondency of the savages. 
After conversing gayly with them he retired to his 
mosquito-bier, by the side of which the chief now placed 
himself. He lay down, yet slept but little, being in fact 
scarcely less uneasy than his Indian companions. He 
was apprehensive that, finding the ascent of the river 
impracticable. Captain Clark might have stopped below 
Rattlesnake bluff, and the messenger would not meet 
him. The consequence of disappointing the Indians at 
this moment would most probably be that they would 
retire and secrete themselves in the mountains, so as 
to prevent our having an opportunity of recovering their 



From the Minnetarees to the Shoshonees 159 

confidence. They would also spread a panic through all 
the neighboring Indians, and cut us off from the supply 
of horses so useful and almost so essential to our success. 
He was at the same time consoled by remembering that 
his hopes of assistance rested on better foundations than 
their generosity — their avarice and their curiosity. He 
had promised liberal exchanges for their horses; but 
what was still more seductive, he had told them that one 
of their countrywomen, who had been taken with the 
Minnetarees, accompanied the party below; and one of 
the men had spread the report of our having with us a 
man [York] perfectly black, whose hair was short and 
curled. This last account had excited a great degree of 
curiosity, and they seemed more desirous of seeing this 
monster than of obtaining the most favorable barter for 
their horses." 

On t"he following day, August 17, the two parties of 
explorers finally met. Under that date the journal has 
this interesting entry: — 

" Captain Lewis rose very early and despatched Drewyer 
and the Indian down the river in quest of the boats. 
Shields was sent out at the same time to hunt, while 
M'Neal prepared a breakfast out of the remainder of the 
meat. Drewyer had been gone about two hours, and the 
Indians were all anxiously waiting for some news, when 
an Indian, who had straggled a short distance down the 
river, returned with a report that he had seen the white 
men, who were only a short distance below, and were 
coming on. The Indians were transported with joy, and 
the chief, in the warmth of his satisfaction, renewed his 
embrace to Captain Lewis, who was quite as much de- 
lighted as the Indians themselves. The report proved 
most agreeably true. 



i6o First Across the Continent 

"On setting out at seven o'clock, Captain Clark, with 
Chaboneau and his wife, walked on shore ; but they had 
not gone more than a mile before Captain Clark saw 
Sacajawea, who was with her husband one hundred yards 
ahead, begin to dance and show every mark of the most 
extravagant joy, turning round to him and pointing to 
several Indians, whom he now saw advancing on horseback, 
sucking her fingers at the same time, to indicate that they 
were of her native tribe. As they advanced, Captain 
Clark discovered among them Drewyer dressed like an 
Indian, from whom he learned the situation of the party. 
While the boats were performing the circuit, he went 
toward the forks with the Indians, who, as they went 
along, sang aloud with the greatest appearance of delight. 

"We soon drew near the camp, and just as we ap- 
proached it a woman made her way through the crowd 
toward Sacajawea; recognizing each other, they embraced 
with the most tender affection. The meeting of these 
two young women had in it something peculiarly touch- 
ing, not only from the ardent manner in which their 
feelings were expressed, but also from the real interest 
of their situation. They had been companions in child- 
hood; in the war with the Minnetarees they had both 
been taken prisoners in the same battle; they had shared 
and softened the rigors of their captivity till one of them 
had escaped from their enemies with scarce a hope of 
ever seeing her friend rescued from their hands. 

"While Sacajawea was renewing among the women the 
friendships of former days. Captain Clark went on, and 
was received by Captain Lewis and the chief, who, after 
the first embraces and salutations were over, conducted 
him to a sort of circular tent or shade of willows. Here 
he was seated on a white robe; and the chief immediately 



From the Minnetarees to the Shoshonees i6i 

tied in his hair six small shells resembling pearls, an 
ornament highly valued by these people, who procure 
them in the course of trade from the seacoast. The 
moccasins of the whole party were then taken off, and, 
after much ceremony, the smoking began. After this 
the conference was to be opened ; and, glad of an oppor- 
tunity of being able to converse more intelligibly, Saca- 
jawea was sent for: she came into the tent, sat down, 
and was beginning to interpret, when in the person of 
Cameahwait she recognized her brother. She instantly 
jumped up, and ran and embraced him, throwing over 
him her blanket, and weeping profusely : the chief was 
himself moved, though not in the same degree. After 
some conversation between them she resumed her seat, 
and attempted to interpret for us; but her new situation 
seemed to overpower her, and she was frequently inter- 
rupted by her tears. After the council was finished, the 
unfortunate woman learned that all her family were dead 
except two brothers, one of whom was absent, and a son 
of her eldest sister, a small boy, who was immediately 
adapted by her." 

The two parties, Indian and white, now went into a 
conference, the white chiefs explaining that it would be 
needful for their Indian friends to collect all their horses 
and help to transport the goods of the explorers over the 
Great Divide. The journal says: — 

"The speech made a favorable impression. The chief, 
in reply, thanked us for our expressions of friendship 
toward himself and his nation, and declared their will- 
ingness to render us every service. He lamented that 
it would be so long before they should be supplied with 
firearms, but that till then they could subsist as they 
had heretofore done. He concluded by saying that there 



1 62 First Across the Continent 

were not horses enough here to transport our goods, but 
that he would return to the village to-morrow, bring all 
his own horses, and encourage his people to come over 
with theirs. The conference being ended to our satis- 
faction, we now inquired of Cameahwait what chiefs were 
among the party, and he pointed out two of them. We 
then distributed our presents : to Cameahwait we gave a 
medal of small size, with the likeness of President Jeffer- 
son, and on the reverse a figure of hands clasped with a 
pipe and tomahawk; to this was added an uniform coat, 
a shirt, a pair of scarlet leggings, a carrot [or twist] of 
tobacco, and some small articles. Each of the other 
chiefs received a small medal struck during the presi- 
dency of General Washington, a shirt, handkerchief, leg- 
gings, knife, and some tobacco. Medals of the same sort 
were also presented to two young warriors, who, though 
not chiefs, were promising youths and very much re- 
spected in the tribe. These honorary gifts were followed 
by presents of paint, moccasins, awls, knives, beads, and 
looking-glasses. We also gave them all a plentiful meal 
of Indian corn, of which the hull is taken off by being 
boiled in lye; as this was the first they had ever tasted, 
they were very much pleased with it. They had, indeed, 
abundant sources of surprise in all they saw — the ap- 
pearance of the men, their arms, their clothing, the 
canoes, the strange looks of the negro, and the sagacity 
of our dog, all in turn shared their admiration, which 
was raised to astonishment by a shot from the air-gun. 
This operation was instantly considered ' great medi- 
cine, ' by which they, as well as the other Indians, mean 
something emanating directly from the Great Spirit, 
or produced by his invisible and incomprehensible 
agency. . . . 



From the Minnetarees to the Shoshonees 163 

" After the council was over we consulted as to our 
future operations. The game did not promise to last 
here for many days; and this circumstance combined 
with many others to induce our going on as soon as pos- 
sible. Our Indian information as to the state of the 
Columbia was of a very alarming kind; and our first 
object was, of course, to ascertain the practicability of 
descending it, of which the Indians discouraged our 
expectations. It was therefore agreed that Captain Clark 
should set off in the morning with eleven men, fur- 
nished, besides their arms, with tools for making canoes: 
that he should take Chaboneau and his wife to the camp 
of the Shoshonees, where he was to leave them, in order 
to hasten the collection of horses ; that he should then 
lead his men down to the Columbia, and if he found it 
navigable, and the timber in sufficient quantity, begin to 
build canoes. As soon as he had decided as to the pro- 
priety of proceeding down the Columbia or across the 
mountains, he was to send back one of the men with 
information of it to Captain Lewis, who by that time 
would have brought up the whole party, and the rest of 
the baggage, as far as the Shoshonee village. Prepara- 
tions were accordingly made at once to carry out the 
arrangement. 

"In order to relieve the men of Captain Clark's party 
from the heavy weight of their arms, provisions, and 
tools, we exposed a few articles to barter for horses, and 
soon obtained three very good ones, in exchange for 
which we gave a uniform coat, a pair of leggings, a few 
handkerchiefs, three knives, and some other small arti- 
cles, the whole of which did not, in the United States, cost 
more than twenty dollars; a fourth was purchased by the 



164 First Across the Continent 

men for an old checkered shirt, a pair of old leggings, and 
a knife. The Indians seemed to be quite as well pleased 
as ourselves at the bargain they had made. We now 
found that the two inferior chiefs were somewhat dis- 
pleased at not having received a present equal to that 
given to the great chief, who appeared in a dress so much 
finer than their own. To allay their discontent, we 
bestowed on them two old coats, and promised them if 
they were active in assisting us across the mountains 
they should have an additional present. This treatment 
completely reconciled them, and the whole Indian party, 
except two men and two women, set out in perfect good 
humor to return to their home with Captain Clark." 



Chapter XIV 
Across the Great Divide 

CAPTAIN CLARK had now left the water-shed of 
the Missouri behind him, and was pressing on, over 
a broken, hilly country, to the lands from which issue the 
tributaries of the Columbia. The Indian village which 
Captain Lewis had previously visited had been removed 
two miles up the stream on which it was situated, and was 
reached by Clark on August 20. The party was very 
ceremoniously received by Chief Cameahwait, and all 
hands began to explain to the white men the difificulties of 
the situation. How to transport the canoes and baggage 
over the mountains to some navigable stream leading into 
the Columbia was now the serious problem. The Indian 
chief and his old men dwelt on the obstacles in the way 
and argued that it was too late in the season to make the 
attempt. They even urged the white men to stay with 
them until another spring, when Indian guides would be 
furnished them to proceed on their journey westward. 

On the twenty-first, Clark passed the junction of two 
streams, the Salmon and the Lemhi, which is now the site 
of Salmon City, Idaho. As Captain Lewis was the first 
white man who had seen these waters, Clark gave to the 
combined water-course the name of Lewis' River. The 
mountains here assumed a formidable aspect, and the 
stream was too narrow, rapid, and rock-bound to admit 
of navigation. The journal says of Captain Clark: — 



1 66 First Across the Continent 

" He soon began to perceive that the Indian accounts 
had not been exaggerated. At the distance of a mile he 
passed a small creek [on the right], and the points of four 
mountains, which were rocky, and so high that it seemed 
almost impossible to cross them with horses. The road 
lay over the sharp fragments of rocks which had fallen 
from the mountains, and were strewed in heaps for miles 
together; yet the horses, altogether unshod, travelled 
across them as fast as the men, without detaining them 
a moment. They passed two bold running streams, and 
reached the entrance of a small river, where a few Indian 
families resided, who had not been previously acquainted 
with the arrival of the whites ; the guide was behind, and 
the woods were so thick that we came upon them unob- 
served, till at a very short distance. As soon as they saw 
us the women and children fled in great consternation; the 
men offered us everything they had — the fish on the 
scaffolds, the dried berries, and the collars of elks' tushes 
worn by the children. We took only a small quantity of 
the food, and gave them in return some small articles 
which conduced very much to pacify them. The guide 
now coming up, explained to them who we were and the 
object of our visit, which seemed to relieve their fears; 
still a number of the women and children did not recover 
from their fright, but cried during our stay, which lasted 
about an hour. The guide, whom we found a very intelli- 
gent, friendly old man, informed us that up this river there 
was a road which led over the mountains to the Missouri." 

To add to their difficulties, game had almost entirely 
disappeared, and the abundant fish in the river could not 
be caught for lack of proper fishing-tackle. Timber from 
which canoes could be made, there was none, and the 
rapids in the rivers were sharp and violent. With his 



Across the Great Divide 167 

Indian guide and three men, Captain Clark now pressed 
on his route of survey, leaving the remainder of his men 
behind to hunt and fish. He went down the Salmon 
River about fifty-two miles, making his way as best he 
could along its banks. Finding the way absolutely 
blocked for their purposes, Captain Clark returned on the 
twenty-fifth of August and rejoined the party that he had 
left behind. These had not been able to kill anything, 
and for a time starvation stared them in the face. Under 
date of August 27, the journal says: — 

" The men, who were engaged last night in mending 
their moccasins, all except one,, went out hunting, but no 
game was to be procured. One of the men, however, 
killed a small salmon, and the Indians made a present of 
another, on which the whole party made a very slight 
breakfast. These Indians, to whom this life is familiar, 
seem contented, although they depend for subsistence on 
the scanty productions of the fishery. But our men, who 
are used to hardships, but have been accustomed to have 
the first wants of nature regularly supplied, feel very sen- 
sibly their wretched situation ; their strength is wasting 
away; they begin to express their apprehensions of being 
without food in a country perfectly destitute of any means 
of supporting life, except a few fish. In the course of the 
day an Indian brought into the camp five salmon, two of 
which Captain Clark bought and made a supper for the 
party." 

Two days later. Captain Clark and his men joined the 
main party, having met the only repulse that was suffered 
by the expedition from first to last. Eluding the vigilance 
of the Indians, caches, or hiding-places, for the baggage 
were constructed, filled, and concealed, the work being 
done after dark. The weather was now very cold, 



1 68 First Across the Continent 

although August had not passed. Ink froze in the pen 
during the night, and the meadows were white with frost; 
but the days were warm, even hot. 

In the absence of Captain Clark, his colleague and 
party had been visited by Cameahwait and about fifty 
of his band, with their women and children. Captain 
Lewis' journal says : — 

*' After they had camped near us and turned loose their 
horses, we called a council of all the chiefs and warriors, 
and addressed them in a speech. Additional presents 
were then distributed, particularly to the two second 
chiefs, who had, agreeably to their promises, exerted 
themselves in our favor. The council was then adjourned, 
and all the Indians were treated with an abundant meal 
of boiled Indian corn and beans. The poor wretches, who 
had no animal food and scarcely anything but a few fish, 
had been almost starved, and received this new luxury with 
great thankfulness. Out of compliment to the chief, we 
gave him a few dried squashes, which we had brought 
from the Mandans, and he declared it was the best food 
he had ever tasted except sugar, a small lump of which he 
had received from his sister Sacajawea. He now declared 
how happy they should all be to live in a country which 
produced so many good things ; and we told him that it 
would not be long before the white men would put it in 
their power to live below the mountains, where they might 
themselves cultivate all these kinds of food, instead of wan- 
dering in the mountains. He appeared to be much pleased 
with this information, and the whole party being now in 
excellent temper after their repast, we began our purchase 
of horses. We soon obtained five very good ones, on very 
reasonable terms — that is, by giving for each horse mer- 
chandise which cost us originally about $6. We have 



Across the Great Divide 169 

again to admire the perfect decency and propriety of the 
Indians; for though so numerous, they do not attempt to 
crowd round our camp or take anything which they see 
lying about, and whenever they borrow knives or kettles or 
any other article from the men, they return them with 
great fidelity." 

Captain Lewis anxiously wished to push on to meet 
Clark, who, as we have seen, was then far down on the 
Salmon River. Lewis was still at the forks of Jefferson 
River, it should be borne in mind ; and their objective 
point was the upper Shoshonee village on the Lemhi 
River, across the divide. While on the way over the 
divide, Lewis was greatly troubled by the freaks of the 
Indians, who, regardless of their promises, would pro- 
pose to return to the buffalo country on the eastern side 
of the mountains. Learning that Cameahwait and his 
chiefs had sent a messenger over to the Lemhi to notify 
the village to come and join an expedition of this sort, 
Captain Lewis was dismayed. His journal says : — • 

" Alarmed at this new caprice of the Indians, which, if 
not counteracted, threatened to leave ourselves and our 
baggage on the mountains, or even if we reached the 
waters of the Columbia, to prevent our obtaining horses to 
go on further. Captain Lewis immediately called the three 
chiefs together. After smoking a pipe he asked them if 
they were men of their word, and if we could rely on their 
promises. They readily answered in the affirmative. He 
then asked if they had not agreed to assist us in carrying 
our baggage over the mountains. To this they also 
answered yes. ' Why, then,' said he, ' have you re- 
quested your people to meet us to-morrow where it will 
be impossible for us to trade for horses, as you promised 
we should? If,' he continued, 'you had not promised to 



\yo First Across the Continent 

help us in transporting our goods over the mountains, we 
should not have attempted it, but have returned down the 
river ; after which no white men would ever have come 
into your country. If you wish the whites to be your 
friends, to bring you arms, and to protect you from your 
enemies, you should never promise what you do not mean 
to perform. When I first met you, you doubted what I 
said, yet you afterward saw that I told you the truth. 
How, therefore, can you doubt what I now tell you? You 
see that I divide amongst you the meat which my hunters 
kill, and I promise to give all who assist us a share of 
whatever we have to eat. If, therefore, you intend to 
keep your promise, send one of the young men imme- 
diately, to order the people to remain at the village till we 
arrive.' The two inferior chiefs then said that they had 
wished to keep their word and to assist us ; that they had 
not sent for the people, but on the contrary had disap- 
proved of that measure, which was done wholly by the 
first chief. Cameahwait remained silent for some time ; 
at last he said that he knew he had done wrong, but 
that, seeing his people all in want of provisions, he had 
wished to hasten their departure for the country where 
their wants might be supplied. He, however, now de- 
clared that, having passed his word, he would never violate 
it, and counter-orders were immediately sent to the village 
by a young man, to whom we gave a handkerchief in 
order to ensure despatch and fidelity. . . . 

"This difficulty being now adjusted, our march was re- 
sumed with an unusual degree of alacrity on the part of 
the Indians. We passed a spot where, six years ago, the 
Shoshonees had suffered a very severe defeat from the Min- 
netarees; and late in the evening we reached the upper 
part of the cove, where the creek enters the mountains. 



Across the Great Divide 171 

The part of the cove on the northeast side of the creek 
has lately been burned, most probably as a signal on 
some occasion. Here we were joined by our hunters 
with a single deer, which Captain Lewis gave, as a proof 
of his sincerity, to the women and children, and remained 
supperless himself. As we came along we observed 
several large hares, some ducks, and many of the cock of 
the plains : in the low grounds of the cove were also con- 
siderable quantities of wild onions." 

Arriving at the Shoshonee village on the Lemhi, Cap- 
tain Lewis found a note from Captain Clark, sent back by 
a runner, informing him of the difficulty and impossibility 
of a water route to the Columbia. Cameahwait, being 
told that his white friends would now need twenty more 
horses, said that he would do what he could to help them. 
The journal here adds : — 

" In order not to lose the present favorable moment, 
and to keep the Indians as cheerful as possible, the violins 
were brought out and our men danced, to the great 
diversion of the Indians. This mirth was the more wel- 
come because our situation was not precisely that which 
would most dispose us to gayety; for we have only a 
little parched corn to eat, and our means of subsistence 
or of success depend on the wavering temper of the 
natives, who may change their minds to-morrow. , . . 

" The Shoshonees are a small tribe of the nation called 
the Snake Indians, a vague appellation, which embraces at 
once the inhabitants of the southern parts of the Rocky 
Mountains and of the plains on either side. The Sho- 
shonees with whom we now were amount to about one 
hundred warriors, and three times that number of women 
and children. Within their own recollection they formerly 
lived in the plains, but they have been driven into the 



172 



First Across the Continent 



mountains by the Pahkees, or the roving Indians of the 
Sascatchawan, and are now obliged to visit occasionally, 
and by stealth, the country of their ancestors. Their 
lives, indeed, are migratory. From the middle of May 
to the beginning of September they reside on the head- 
waters of the Columbia, where they consider themselves 
perfectly secure from the Pahkees, who have never yet 
found their way to that retreat. During this time they 
subsist chiefly on salmon, and, as that fish disappears on 
the approach of autumn, they are driven to seek subsist- 
ence elsewhere. They then cross the ridge to the waters 
of the Missouri, down which they proceed slowly and 
cautiously, till they are joined near the Three Forks by 
other bands, either of their own nation or of the Flatheads, 
with whom they associate against the common enemy. 
Being now strong in numbers, they venture to hunt the 
buffalo in the plains eastward of the mountains, near which 
they spend the winter, till the return of the salmon invites 
them to the Columbia. But such is their terror of the 
Pahkees, that, so long as they can obtain the scantiest 
subsistence, they do not leave the interior of the moun- 
tains ; and, as soon as they have collected a large stock 
of dried meat, they again retreat, thus alternately obtain- 
ing their food at the hazard of their lives, and hiding 
themselves to consume it. 

" In this loose and wandering life they suffer the ex- 
tremes of want ; for two thirds of the year they are forced 
to live in the mountains, passing whole weeks without 
meat, and with nothing to eat but a few fish and roots. 
Nor can anything be imagined more wretched than their 
condition at the present time, when the salmon is fast 
retiring, when roots are becoming scarce, and they have 
not yet acquired strength to hazard an encounter with 



Across the Great Divide 



173 



their enemies. So insensible are they, however, to these 
calamities, that the Shoshonees are not only cheerful, but 
even gay ; and their character, which is more interesting 
than that of any Indians we have seen, has in it much 
of the dignity of misfortune. In their intercourse with 
strangers they are frank and communicative ; in their 
dealings they are perfectly fair; nor have we, during our 
stay with them, had any reason to suspect that the dis- 
play of all our new and valuable wealth has tempted 
them into a single act of dishonesty. While they have 
generally shared with us the little they possess, they 
have always abstained from begging anything from us. 
With their liveliness of temper, they are fond of gaudy 
dresses and all sorts of amusements, particularly games 
of hazard ; and, like most Indians, delight in boasting of 
their warlike exploits, either real or fictitious. In their 
conduct towards us they have been kind and obliging; 
and though on one occasion they seemed willing to neglect 
us, yet we scarcely knew how to blame the treatment by 
which we were to suffer, when we recollected how few 
civilized chiefs would have hazarded the comforts or the 
subsistence of their people for the sake of a few strangers. 

" As war is the chief occupation, bravery is the first vir- 
tue among the Shoshonees. None can hope to be dis- 
tinguished without having given proofs of it, nor can there 
be any preferment or influence among the nation, without 
some warlike achievement. Those important events which 
give reputation to a warrior, and entitle him to a new name, 
are : killing a white [or grizzly] bear, stealing' individually 
the horses of the enemy, leading a party who happen to be 
successful either in plundering horses or destroying the 
enemy, and lastly, scalping a warrior. These acts seem 



174 First Across the Continent 

of nearly equal dignity, but the last, that of taking an 
enemy's scalp, is an honor quite independent of the act of 
vanquishing him. To kill your adversary is of no import- 
ance unless the scalp is brought from the field of battle ; 
were a warrior to slay any number of his enemies in action, 
and others were to obtain the scalps or first touch the 
dead, they would have all the honors, since they have 
borne ofif the trophy. 

** The names of these Indians vary in the course of their 
life. Originally given in childhood, from the mere neces- 
sity of distinguishing objects, or from some accidental 
resemblance to external objects, the young warrior is 
impatient to change it by some achievement of his own. 
Any important event — the stealing of horses, the scalping 
of an enemy, or the killing of a brown bear — entitles him 
at once to a new name, which he then selects for himself, 
and it is confirmed by the nation. Sometimes the two 
names subsist together ; thus, the chief Cameahwait, which 
means ' One Who Never Walks,' has the war-name of 
Tooettecone, or ' Black Gun,' which he acquired when he 
first signalized himself. As each new action gives a 
warrior a right to change his name, many of them have 
several in the course of their lives. To give to a friend 
one's own name is an act of high courtesy, and a pledge, 
Hke that of pulling oft" the moccasin, of sincerity and hos- 
pitality. The chief in this way gave his name to Captain 
Clark when he first arrived, and he was afterward known 
among the Shoshonees by the name of Cameahwait." 

On the thirtieth of August, the whole expedition being 
now reunited, and a sufficient number of horses having 
been purchased of the Shoshonees, the final start across 
the mountains was begun. The journal says : — 



Across the Great Divide 175 

" The greater part of the band, who had delayed their 
journey on our account, were also ready to depart. We 
took leave of the Shoshonees, who set out on their visit to 
the Missouri at the same time that we, accompanied by 
the old guide, his four sons, and another Indian, began the 
descent of the Lemhi River, along the same road which 
Captain Clark had previously pursued. After riding twelve 
miles we camped on the south bank of this river, and as 
the hunters had brought in three deer early in the morn- 
ing, we did not feel the want of provisions." 

Three days later, all the Indians, except the old guide, 
left them. They now passed up Fish Creek, and finding 
no track leading over the mountains they cut their way. 
Their journal says : — 

"This we effected with much difficulty; the thickets of 
trees and brush through which we were obliged to cut our 
way required great labor ; the road itself was over the 
steep and rocky sides of the hills, where the horses could 
not move without danger of sHpping down, while their feet 
were bruised by the rocks and stumps of trees. Accus- 
tomed as these animals were to this kind of life, they suf- 
fered severely ; several of them fell to some distance down 
the sides of the hills, some turned over with the baggage, 
one was crippled, and two gave out, exhausted with fatigue. 
After crossing the creek several times we at last made five 
miles, with great fatigue and labor, and camped on the left 
side of the creek in a small stony low ground. It was not, 
however, till after dark that the whole party was collected ; 
and then, as it rained and we had killed nothing, we passed 
an uncomfortable night. The party had been too busily 
occupied with the horses to make any hunting excursion ; 
and though, as we came along Fish Creek, we saw many 
beaver-dams, we saw none of the animals themselves." 



176 First Across the Continent 

The Indian guide appears here to have lost his way ; but, 
not dismayed, he pushed on through a trackless wilder- 
ness, sometimes travelling on the snow that now covered 
the mountains. On the fourth of September, the party 
came upon a large encampment of Indians, who received 
them with much ceremony. The journal says : — 

" September 5, we assembled the chiefs and warriors, 
and informed them who we were, and the purpose for 
which we had visited their country. All this was, however, 
conveyed to them through so many different languages, 
that it was not comprehended without difficulty. We 
therefore proceeded to the more intelligible language of 
presents, and made four chiefs by giving a medal and a 
small quantity of tobacco to each. We received in turn 
from the principal chief a present consisting of the skins of 
a blaireaii (badger), an otter, and two antelopes, and were 
treated by the women to some dried roots and berries. 
We then began to traffic for horses, and succeeded in ex- 
changing seven and purchasing eleven, for which we gave 
a few articles of merchandise. 

" This encampment consists of thirty-three tents, in 
which were about four hundred souls, among whom eighty 
were men. They are called Ootlashoots, and represent 
themselves as one band of a nation called Tushepaws, a 
numerous people of four hundred and fifty tents, residing 
on the head-waters of the Missouri and Columbia rivers, 
and some of them lower down the latter river. In person 
these Indians are stout, and their complexion lighter than 
that common among Indians. The hair of the men is 
worn in queues of otter skin, falling in front over the 
shoulders. A shirt of dressed skin covers the body to the 
knee, and over this is worn occasionally a robe. To these 
are added leggings and moccasins. The women suffer their 



Across the Great Divide 177 

hair to fall in disorder over the face and shoulders, and 
their chief article of covering is a long shirt of skin, reach- 
ing down to the ankles, and tied round the waist. In 
other respects, as also in the few ornaments which they 
possess, their appearance is similar to that of the Shosho- 
nees : thefe is, however, a difference between the lan- 
guages of these two people, which is still farther increased 
by the very extraordinary pronunciation of the Oot- 
lashoots. Their words have all a remarkably guttural 
sound, and there is nothing which seems to represent the 
tone of their speaking more exactly than the clucking of a 
fowl or the noise of a parrot. This peculiarity renders 
their voices scarcely audible, except at a short distance; 
and, when many of them are talking, forms a strange con- 
fusion of sounds. The common conversation that we over- 
heard consisted of low, guttural sounds, occasionally 
broken by a low word or two, after which it would relapse, 
and could scarcely be distinguished. They seemed kind 
and friendly, and willingly shared with us berries and roots, 
which formed their sole stock of provisions. Their only 
wealth is their horses, which are very fine, and so numerous 
that this party had with them at least five hundred." 

These Indians were on their way to join the other bands 
who were hunting buffalo on the Jefferson River, across the 
Great Divide. They set out the next morning, and the 
explorers resumed their toilsome journey, travelling gener- 
ally in a northwesterly direction and looking for a pass 
across the Bitter Root Mountains. Very soon, all indi- 
cations of game disappeared, and, September 14, they 
were forced to kill a colt, their stock of animal food being 
exhausted. They pressed on, however, through a savage 
wilderness, having frequent need to recur to horse-flesh. 
Here is an entry under date of September 18, in the 



178 



First Across the Continent 



journal: " We melted some snow, and supped on a little 
portable soup, a few canisters of which, with about twenty- 
pounds' weight of bear's oil, are our only remaining means 
of subsistence. Our guns are scarcely of any service, for 
there is no living creature in these mountains, except ^ few 
small pheasants, a small species of gray squirrel, and a blue 
bird of the vulture kind, about the size of a turtle-dove, or 
jay. Even these are difficult to shoot." 

" A bold running creek," up which Captain Clark passed 
on September 19, was appropriately named by him " Hun- 
gry Creek," as at that place they had nothing to eat. 
But, at about six miles' distance from the head of the 
stream, " he fortunately found a horse, on which he break- 
fasted, and hung the rest on a tree for the party in the 
rear." This was one of the wild horses, strayed from 
Indian bands, which they found in the wilderness, too wild 
to be caught and used, but not too wild to shoot and eat. 
Later, on the same day, this entry is made in the journal : 

" The road along the creek is a narrow rocky path near 
the borders of very high precipices, from which a fall seems 
almost inevitable destruction. One of our horses slipped 
and rolled over with his load down the hillside, which was 
nearly perpendicular and strewed with large irregular rocks, 
nearly one hundred yards, and did not stop till he fell into 
the creek. We all expected he was killed ; but to our 
astonishment, on taking off his load he rose, seemed but 
little injured, and in twenty minutes proceeded with his 
load. Having no other provision, we took some portable 
soup, our only refreshment during the day. This absti- 
nence, joined with fatigue, has a visible effect on our health. 
The men are growing weak and losing their flesh very fast ; 
several are afflicted with dysentery, and eruptions of the 
skin are very common." 



Across the Great Divide 179 

Next day, the party descended the last of the Bitter 
Root range and reached level country. They were at last 
over the Great Divide. Three Indian boys were discovered 
hiding in the grass, in great alarm. Captain Clark at once 
dismounted from his horse, and, making signs of amity, 
went after the boys. He calmed their terrors, and, giving 
them some bits of ribbon, sent them home. 

" Soon after the bo}'s reached home, a man came out to 
meet the party, with great caution ; but he conducted them 
to a large tent in the village, and all the inhabitants 
gathered round to view with a mixture of fear and pleasure 
these wonderful strangers. The conductor now informed 
Captain Clark, by signs, that the spacious tent was the 
residence of the great chief, who had set out three days 
ago with all the warriors to attack some of their enemies 
toward the southwest ; that he would not return before 
fifteen or eighteen days, and that in the mean time there 
were only a few men left to guard the women and children. 
They now set before them a small piece of bufifalo-meat, 
some dried salmon, berries, and several kinds of roots. 
Among these last is one which is round, much like an onion 
in appearance, and sweet to the taste. It is called quamash, 
and is eaten either in its natural state, or boiled into a kind 
of soup, or made into a cake, which is then called pasheco. 
After the long abstinence this was a sumptuous treat. 
They returned the kindness of the people by a few small 
presents, and then went on in company with one of the 
chiefs to a second village in the same plain, at the distance 
of two miles. Here the party were treated with great 
kindness, and passed the night. The hunters were sent 
out, but, though they saw some tracks of deer, were not 
able to procure anything." 

The root which the Indians used in so many ways is 



i8o First Across the Continent 

now known as camas ; it is still much sought for by the 
Nez Perces and other wandering tribes in the Northwest, 
and Camas Prairie, in that region, derives its name from 
the much-sought-for vegetable. 

Captain Clark and his men stayed with these hospitable 
Indians several days. The free use of wholesome food, to 
which he had not lately been accustomed, made Clark very 
ill, and he contented himself with staying in the Indian 
villages, of which there were two. These Indians called 
themselves Chopunnish, or Pierced Noses ; this latter name 
is now more commonly rendered Nez Perces, the French 
voyageurs having given it that translation into their own 
tongue. But these people, so far as known, did not pierce 
their noses. After sending a man back on the trail to 
notify Captain Lewis of his progress, Captain Clark went 
on to the village of Chief Twisted-hair. Most of the 
women and children, though notified of the coming of the 
white man, were so scared by the appearance of the 
strangers that they fled to the woods. The men, however, 
received them without fear and gave them a plentiful 
supply of food. They were now on one of the upper 
branches of the Kooskooskee River, near what is the site of 
Pierce City, county seat of Shoshonee County, Idaho. The 
Indians endeavored, by means of signs, to explain to their 
visitors the geography of the country beyond. 

" Among others, Twisted-hair drew a chart of the river 
on a white elk-skin. According to this, the Kooskooskee 
forks [confluence of its North fork] a few miles from this 
place ; two days toward the south is another and larger 
fork [confluence of Snake River], on which the Shoshonee 
or Snake Indians fish ; five days' journey further is a large 
river from the northwest [that is, the Columbia itself] into 
which Clark's River empties ; from the mouth of that river 



Across the Great Divide i8i 

[that is, confluence of the Snake with the Columbia] to the 
falls is five days' journey further ; on all the forks as well 
as on the main river great numbers of Indians reside." 

On the twenty-third of September, Captain Lewis and 
his party having come up, the white men assembled the 
Indians and explained to them where they came from and 
what was their errand across the continent. The Indians 
appeared to be entirely satisfied, and they sold their vis- 
itors as much provisions as their half-famished horses 
could carry. The journal here says: — 

" All around the village the women are busily employed 
in gathering and dressing the pasheco-root, of which large 
quantities are heaped in piles over the plain. We now 
felt severely the consequence of eating heartily after our 
late privations. Captain Lewis and two of the men were 
taken very ill last evening ; to-day he could hardly sit on 
his horse, while others were obliged to be put on horse- 
back, and some, from extreme weakness and pain, were 
forced to He down alongside of the road for some time. 
At sunset we reached the island where the hunters had 
been left on the 22d. They had been unsuccessful, having 
killed only two deer since that time, and two of them were 
very sick. A little below this island is a larger one on 
which we camped, and administered Rush's pills to the 
sick." 

The illness of the party continued for several days, 
and not much progress was made down-stream. Having 
camped, on the twenty-seventh of September, in the Koos- 
kooskee River, at a place where plenty of good timber was 
found, preparations for building five canoes were begun. 
From this time to the fifth of October, all the men capable 
of labor were employed in preparing the canoes. The 
health of the party gradually recruited, though they still 



1 82 First Across the Continent 

suffered severely from want of food ; and, as the hunters 
had but Httle success in procuring game, they were obliged 
on the second to kill one of their horses. Indians from 
different quarters frequently visited them, but all that 
could be obtained from them was a little fish and some 
dried roots. This diet was not only unnutritious, but in 
many cases it caused dysentery and nausea. 



Chapter XV 
Down the Pacific Slope 

THE early days of October were spent in making 
preparations for the descent of the river, — the 
Kooskooskee. Here they made their canoes, and they 
called their stopping-place Canoe Camp. This was at 
the junction of the north fork of the river with the main 
stream ; and all below that point is called the Lower 
Kooskooskee, while that above is known as the upper 
river. The latitude of the camp, according to the jour- 
nal of the explorers, was 46° 34' 56" north. Here they 
buried in a cache their saddles, horse-gear, and a small 
supply of powder and musket balls for possible emer- 
gencies. The Kooskooskee, it should be borne in mind, 
is now better known as the Clearwater; it empties into 
the Snake River, and that into the Columbia. As far as 
the explorers knew the water-course down which they 
were to navigate, they called it Clark's River, in honor 
of Captain Clark. But modern geographers have dis- 
placed the name of that eminent explorer and map-maker 
and have divided the stream, or streams, with other 
nomenclature. 

On the eighth of October the party set out on their 
long water journey in five canoes, one of which was a 
small craft intended to go on ahead and pilot the way 
(which, of course, was unknown) for the four larger ones, in 



184 First Across the Continent 

which travelled the main party with their luggage. They 
met with disaster very soon after their start, one of the 
canoes having struck a rock, which made a hole in its 
side and caused the sinking of the craft. Fortunately, 
no lives were lost, but the voyage was interrupted. The 
party went ashore and did not resume their journey until 
their luggage was dried and the canoe repaired. On the 
ninth, says the journal : — 

"The morning was as usual cool; but as the weather 
both yesterday and to-day was cloudy, our merchandise 
dried but slowly. The boat, though much injured, was 
repaired by ten o'clock so as to be perfectly fit for ser- 
vice; but we were obliged to remain during the day till 
the articles were sufificiently dry to be reloaded. The 
interval we employed in purchasing fish for the voyage, 
and conversing with the Indians. In the afternoon we 
were surprised at hearing that our old Shoshonee guide 
and his son had left us and had been seen running up the 
river several miles above. As he had never given any 
notice of his intention, nor had even received his pay for 
guiding us, we could not imagine the cause of his deser- 
tion; nor did he ever return to explain his conduct. We 
requested the chief to send a horseman after him to 
request that he would return and receive what we owed 
him. From this, however, he dissuaded us, and said 
very frankly that his nation, the Chopunnish, would take 
from the old man any presents that he might have on 
passing their camp. The Indians came about our camp 
at night, and were very gay and good-humored with the 
men. Among other exhibitions was that of a squaw who 
appeared to be crazy. She sang in a wild, incoherent 
manner, and offered to the spectators all the little arti- 
cles she possessed, scarifying herself in a horrid manner 



Down the Pacific Slope 185 

if anyone refused her present. She seemed to be an 
object of pity among the Indians, who suffered her to 
do as she pleased without interruption." 

The river was full of rapids and very dangerous rocks 
and reefs, and the voyagers were able to make only twenty 
miles a day for some distance along the stream. At the 
confluence of the Kooskooskee and the Snake River they 
camped for the night, near the present site of Lewiston, 
Idaho. This city, first settled in May, 1861, and incor- 
porated in 1863, was named for Captain Lewis of our 
expedition. From this point the party crossed over into 
the present State of Washington. Of their experience 
at their camp here the journal says : — 

" Our arrival soon attracted the attention of the In- 
dians, who flocked in all directions to see us. In the 
evening the Indian from the falls, whom we had seen at 
Rugged rapid, joined us with his son in a small canoe, 
and insisted on accompanying us to the falls. Being 
again reduced to fish and roots, we made an experiment 
to vary our food by purchasing a few dogs, and after 
having been accustomed to horse-flesh, felt no disrelish 
for this new dish. The Chopunnish have great numbers 
of dogs, which they employ for domestic purposes, but 
never eat ; and our using the flesh of that animal soon 
brought us into ridicule as dog-eaters." 

When Fremont and his men crossed the continent to 
California, in 1842, they ate the flesh of that species of 
marmot which we know as the prairie-dog. Long after- 
wards, when Fremont was a candidate for the office of 
President of the United States, this fact was recalled 
to the minds of men, and the famous explorer was 
denounced as "a dog-eater." 

The journal of the explorers gives this interesting 



1 86 First Across the Continent 

account of the Indians among whom they now found 
themselves : — 

"The Chopunnish or Pierced-nose nation, who reside 
on the Kooskooskee and Lewis' [Snake] rivers, are in 
person stout, portly, well-looking men; the women are 
small, with good features and generally handsome, though 
the complexion of both sexes is darker than that of the 
Tushepaws. In dress they resemble that nation, being 
fond of displaying their ornaments. The buffalo or elk- 
skin robe decorated with beads; sea-shells, chiefly mother- 
of-pearl, attached to an otter-skin collar and hung in the 
hair, which falls in front in two cues; feathers, paints of 
different kinds, principally white, green, and light blue, 
all of which they find in their own country; these are 
the chief ornaments they use. In the winter they wear 
a short skirt of dressed skins, long painted leggings and 
moccasins, and a plait of twisted grass round the neck. 
The dress of the women is more simple, consisting of a 
long shirt of argalia [argali] or ibex [bighorn] skin, 
reaching down to the ankles, without a girdle; to this 
are tied little pieces of brass, shells, and other small arti- 
cles ; but the head is not at all ornamented. 

"The Chopunnish have very few amusements, for their 
life is painful and laborious ; all their exertions are neces- 
sary to earn even their precarious subsistence. During 
the summer and autumn they are busily occupied in fish- 
ing for salmon and collecting their winter store of roots. 
In winter they hunt the deer on snow-shoes over the 
plains, and toward spring cross the mountains to the 
Missouri for the purpose of rafficking for buffalo-robe. 
The inconveniences of their comfortless life are in- 
creased by frequent encounters with their enemies from 
the west, who drive them over the mountains with the 



Down the Pacific Slope 187 

loss of their horses, and sometimes the lives of many 
of the nation." 

After making a short stage on their journey, October 
II, the party stopped to trade with the Indians, their 
stock of provisions being low. They were able to pur- 
chase a quantity of salmon and seven dogs. They saw 
here a novel kind of vapor bath which is thus described 
in the journal : — 

"While this traffic was going on we observed a vapor 
bath or sweating-house, in a different form from that 
used on the frontier of the United States or in the Rocky 
Mountains. It was a hollow square six or eight feet 
deep, formed in the river bank by damming up with mud 
the other three sides and covering the whole completely, 
except an aperture about two feet wide at the top. The 
bathers descend by this hole, taking with them a number 
of heated stones and jugs of water; after being seated 
round the room they throw the water on the stones till 
the steam becomes of a temperature sufficiently high for 
their purposes. The baths of the Indians in the Rocky 
Mountains are of different sizes, the most common being 
made of mud and sticks like an oven, but the mode of 
raising the steam is exactly the same. Among both these 
nations it is very uncommon for a man to bathe alone ; 
he is generally accompanied by one or sometimes several 
of his acquaintances; indeed, it is so essentially a social 
amusement, that to decline going in to bathe when in- 
vited by a friend is one of the highest indignities which 
can be offered to him. The Indians on the frontier 
generally use a bath which will accommodate only one 
person, formed of a wicker-work of willows about four 
feet high, arched at the top, and covered with skins. In 
this the patient sits, till by means of the heated stones 



1 88 First Across the Continent 

and water he has perspired sufficiently. Almost univer- 
sally these baths are in the neighborhood of running 
water, into which the Indians plunge immediately on 
coming out of the vapor bath, and sometimes return 
again and subject themselves to a second perspiration. 
This practice is, however, less frequent among our neigh- 
boring nations than those to the westward. This bath is 
employed either for pleasure or for health, and is used 
indiscriminately for all kinds of diseases." 

The expedition was now on the Snake River, making 
all possible speed toward the Columbia, commonly known 
to the Indians as "The Great River." The stream was 
crowded with dangerous rapids, and sundry disasters were 
met with by the way; thus, on the fourteenth jf October, 
a high wind blowing, one of the canoes was driven upon 
a rock sidewise and filled with water. The men on 
board got out and dragged the canoe upon the rock, 
where they held her above water. Another canoe, hav- 
ing been unloaded, was sent to the relief of the ship- 
wrecked men, who, after being left on the rock for some 
time, were taken off without any other loss than the bed- 
ding of two of them. But accidents like this delayed the 
party, as they were forced to land and remain long enough 
to dry the goods that had been exposed to the water. 
Several such incidents are told in the journal of the 
explorers. Few Indians were to be seen along the banks 
of the river, but occasionally the party came to a pile of 
planks and timbers which were the materials from which 
were built the houses of such Indians as came here in the 
fishing season to catch a supply for the winter and for 
trading purposes. Occasionally, the complete scarcity of 
fuel compelled the explorers to depart from their general 
rule to avoid taking any Indian property without leave; 



Down the Pacific Slope 189 

and they used some of these house materials for firewood, 
with the intent to pay the rightful owners, if they should 
ever be found. On the sixteenth of October, they met 
with a party of Indians, of whom the journal gives this 
account : — 

"After crossing by land we halted for dinner, and 
whilst we were eating were visited by five Indians, who 
came up the river on foot in great haste. We received 
them kindly, smoked with them, and gave them a piece 
of tobacco to smoke with their tribe. On receiving the 
present they set out to return, and continued running as 
fast as they could while they remained in sight. Their 
curiosity had been excited by the accounts of our two 
chiefs, who had gone on in order to apprise the tribes of 
our approach and of our friendly disposition toward them. 
After dinner we reloaded the canoes and proceeded. 
We soon passed a rapid opposite the upper point of a 
sandy island on the left, which has a smaller island near 
it. At three miles is a gravelly bar in the river; four 
miles beyond this the Kimooenim [Snake] empties into 
the Columbia, and at its mouth has an island just below 
a small rapid. 

"We halted above the point of junction, on the 
Kimooenim, to confer with the Indians, who had col- 
lected in great numbers to receive us. On landing we 
were met by our two chiefs, to whose good offices we 
were indebted for this reception, and also the two Indians 
who had passed us a few days since on horseback; one of 
whom appeared to be a man of influence, and harangued 
the Indians on our arrival. After smoking with the 
Indians, we formed a camp at the point where the two 
rivers unite, near to which we found some driftwood, and 
were supplied by our two old chiefs with the stalks of 
willows and some small bushes for fuel. 



190 First Across the Continent 

" We had scarcely fixed the camp and got the fires pre- 
pared, when a chief came from the Indian camp about a 
quarter of a mile up the Columbia, at the head of nearly 
two hundred men. They formed a regular procession, 
keeping time to the music, or, rather, noise of their drums, 
which they accompanied with their voices; and as they 
advanced, they ranged themselves in a semicircle around 
us, and continued singing for some time. We then 
smoked with them all, and communicated, as well as 
we could by signs, our friendly intentions towards every 
nation, and our joy at finding ourselves surrounded b)' 
our children. After this we proceeded to distribute 
presents among them, giving the principal chief a large 
medal, a shirt, and a handkerchief; to the second chief, 
a medal of a smaller size; and to a third, who had come 
down from some of the upper villages, a small medal and 
a handkerchief. This ceremony being concluded, they 
left us; but in the course of the afternoon several of 
them returned, and remained with us till a late hour. 
After they had dispersed, we proceeded to purchase pro- 
visions, and were enabled to collect seven dogs, to which 
some of the Indians added small presents of fish, and one 
of them gave us twenty pounds of fat dried horse-flesh." 

The explorers were still in the country which is now 
the State of Washington, at a point where the counties 
of Franklin, Yakima, and Walla Walla come together, at 
the junction of the Snake and the Columbia. We quote 
now from the journal : — 

"From the point of junction the country is a continued 
plain, low near the water, from which it rises gradually, 
and the only elevation to be seen is a range of high 
country running from northeast to southwest, where it 
joins a range of mountains from the southwest, and is 



Down the Pacific Slope 191 

on the opposite side about two miles from the Columbia. 
There is on this plain no tree, and scarcely any shrubs, 
except a few willow-bushes; even of smaller plants there" 
is not much more than the prickly-pear, which is in 
great abundance, and is even more thorny and trouble- 
some than any we have yet seen. During this time the 
principal chief came down with several of his warriors, 
and smoked with us. We were also visited by several 
men and women, who offered dogs and fish for sale; but 
as the fish was out of season, and at present abundant in 
the river, we contented ourselves with purchasing all the 
dogs we could obtain. 

" The nation among which we now are call themselves 
Sokulks ; with them are united a few of another nation, 
who reside on a western branch which empties into the 
Columbia a few miles above the mouth of the latter river, 
and whose name is Chimnapum. The languages of these 
two nations, of each of which we obtained a vocabulary, 
differ but little from each other, or from that of the 
Chopunnish who inhabit the Kooskooskee and Lewis' 
rivers. In their dress and general appearance they also 
much resemble those nations; the men wearing a robe of 
deer- or antelope-skin, under which a few of them have 
a short leathern shirt. The most striking difference is 
among the females, the Sokulk women being more in- 
clined to corpulency than any we have yet seen. Their 
stature is low, their faces are broad, and their heads flat- 
tened in such a manner that the forehead is in a straight 
line from the nose to the crown of the head. Their eyes 
are of a dirty sable, their hair is coarse and black, and 
braided without ornament of any kind. Instead of wear- 
ing, as do the Chopunnish, long leathern shirts highly 
decorated with beads and shells, the Sokulk women have 



192 First Across the Continent 

no other covering but a truss or piece of leather tied 
round the hips, and drawn tight between the legs. The 
ornaments usually worn by both sexes are large blue or 
white beads, either pendant from their ears, or round the 
neck, wrists, and arms; they have likewise bracelets of 
brass, copper, and horn, and some trinkets of shells, fish- 
bones, and curious feathers. 

" The houses of the Sokulks are made of large mats of 
rushes, and are generally of a square or oblong form, 
varying in length from fifteen to sixty feet, and sup- 
ported in the inside by poles or forks about six feet 
high. The top is covered with mats, leaving a space of 
twelve or fifteen inches the whole length of the house, 
for the purpose of admitting the light and suffering the 
smoke to escape. The roof is nearly flat, which seems to 
indicate that rains are not common in this open country; 
and the house is not divided into apartments, the fire 
being in the middle of the enclosure, and immediately 
under the hole in the roof. The interior is ornamented 
with their nets, gigs, and other fishing-tackle, as well 
as the bow of each inmate, and a large quiver of arrows, 
which are headed with flint. 

"The Sokulks seem to be of a mild and peaceable dis- 
position, and live in a state of comparative happiness. 
The men, like those on the Kimooenim, are said to con- 
tent themselves with a single wife, with whom the 
husband, we observe, shares the labors of procuring 
subsistence much more than is common among savages. 
What may be considered an unequivocal proof of their 
good disposition, is the great respect which is shown to 
old age. Among other marks of it, we noticed in one of 
the houses an old woman perfectly blind, and who, we 
were told, had lived more than a hundred winters. In 



Down the Pacific Slope 193 

this state of decrepitude, she occupied the best position 
in the house, seemed to be treated with great kindness, 
and whatever she said was listened to with much atten- 
tion. They are by no means obtrusive; and as their 
fisheries supply them with a competent, if not an abun- 
dant subsistence, although they receive thankfully what- 
ever we choose to give, they do not importune us by 
begging. Fish is, indeed, their chief food, except roots 
and casual supplies of antelope, which latter, to those 
who have only bows and arrows, must be very scanty. 
This diet may be the direct or the remote cause of the 
chief disorder which prevails among them, as well as 
among the Flatheads on the Kooskooskee and Lewis' 
rivers. With all these Indians a bad soreness of the 
eyes is a very common disorder, which is suffered to 
ripen by neglect, till many are deprived of one of their 
eyes, and some have totally lost the use of both. This 
dreadful calamity may reasonably, we think, be imputed 
to the constant reflection of the sun on the waters, where 
they are constantly fishing in the spring, summer, and 
fall, and during the rest of the year on the snows of a 
country which affords no object to relieve the sight. 

"Among the Sokulks, indeed among all the tribes 
whose chief subsistence is fish, we have observed that 
bad teeth are very general ; some have the teeth, particu- 
larly those of the upper jaw, worn down to the gums, and 
many of both sexes, even of middle age, have lost them 
almost entirely. This decay of the teeth is a circum- 
stance very unusual among Indians, either of the moun- 
tains or the plains, and seems peculiar to the inhabitants 
of the Columbia. We cannot avoid regarding as one 
principal cause of it the manner in which they eat their 
food. The roots are swallowed as they are dug from the 

13 



$94 First Across the Continent 

ground, frequently covered with a gritty sand; so little 
idea have they that this is offensive that all the roots 
they offer us for sale are in the same condition." 

The explorers were now at the entrance of the mighty 
Columbia, — " The Great River " of which they had heard 
so much from the Indians. We might suppose that when 
they actually embarked upon the waters of the famous 
stream, variously known as "The River of the North" 
and "The Oregon," the explorers would be touched with 
a little of the enthusiasm with which they straddled the 
headwaters of the Missouri and gazed upon the snow- 
covered peaks of the Rocky Mountains. But no such 
kindling of the imagination seems to have been noted in 
their journal. In this commonplace way, according to 
their own account, Captain Clark entered upon the mighty 
Columbia: — 

"In the course of the day [October 17, 1805], Cap- 
tain Clark, in a small canoe with two men, ascended the 
Columbia. At the distance of five miles he passed an 
island in the middle of the river, at the head of which 
was a small but not dangerous rapid. On the left bank, 
opposite to this island, was a fishing-place consisting of 
three mat houses. Here were great quantities of salmon 
drying on scaffolds; and, indeed, from the mouth of the 
river upward, he saw immense numbers of dead salmon 
strewed along the shore, or floating on the surface of the 
water, which is so clear that the fish may be seen swim- 
ming at the depth of fifteen or twenty feet. The Indians, 
who had collected on the banks to observe him, now 
joined him in eighteen canoes, and accompanied him up 
the river. A mile above the rapids he came to the lower 
point of an island, where the course of the stream, which 
had been from its mouth north eighty-three degrees west. 



Down the Pacific Slope 195 

now became due west. He proceeded in that direction, 
until, observing three houses of mats at a short distance, he 
landed to visit them. On entering one of these houses, 
he found it crowded with men, women, and children, who 
immediately provided a mat for him to sit on, and one of 
the party undertook to prepare something to eat. He be- 
gan by bringing in a piece of pine wood that had drifted 
down the river, which he split into small pieces with a 
wedge made of elkhorn, by means of a mallet of stone 
curiously carved. The pieces of wood were then laid 
on the fire, and several round stones placed upon them. 
One of the squaws now brought a bucket of water, in 
which was a large salmon about half dried, and, as the 
stones became heated, they were put into the bucket till 
the salmon was sufficiently boiled for use. It was then 
taken out, put on a platter of rushes neatly made, and 
laid before Captain Clark, while another was boiled for 
each of his men. During these preparations he smoked 
with such about him as would accept of tobacco, but very 
few were desirous of smoking, a custom which is not 
general among them, and chiefly used as a matter of form 
in great ceremonies. 

"After eating the fish, which was of an excellent flavor, 
Captain Clark set out and, at the distance of four miles 
from the last island, came to the lower point of another 
near the left shore, where he halted at two large mat- 
houses. Here, as at the three houses below, the in- 
habitants were occupied in splitting and drying salmon. 
The multitudes of this fish are almost inconceivable. 
The water is so clear that they can readily be seen at the 
depth of fifteen or twenty feet ; but at this season they float 
in such quantities down the stream, and are drifted ashore, 
that the Indians have only to collect, split, and dry them 



196 First Across the Continent 

on the scaffolds. Where they procure the timber of 
which these scaffolds are composed he could not learn; 
but as there is nothing but willow-bushes to be seen for 
a great distance from this place, it rendered very probable 
what the Indians assured him by signs, that they often 
used dried fish as fuel for the common occasions of cook- 
ing. From this island they showed him the entrance of 
the western branch of the Columbia, called the Tapteal, 
which, as far as could be seen, bears nearly west and 
empties about eight miles above into the Columbia, the 
general course of which is northwest." 

The Tapteal, as the journal calls it, is now known as 
the Yakima, a stream which has its source in the Cas- 
cade range of mountains, Washington. The party tarried 
here long enough to secure from the Indians a tolerably 
correct description of the river upon which they were 
about to embark. One of the chiefs drew upon the skin- 
side of a buffalo robe a sketch of the Columbia. And 
this was transferred to paper and put into the journal. 
That volume adds here : — 

" Having completed the purposes of our stay, we now 
began to lay in our stores. Fish being out of season, we 
purchased forty dogs, for which we gave small articles, 
such as bells, thimbles, knitting-needles, brass wire, and 
a few beads, an exchange with which they all seemed 
perfectly satisfied. These dogs, with six prairie-cocks 
killed this morning, formed a plentiful supply for the 
present. We here left our guide and the two young men 
who had accompanied him, two of the three being unwill- 
ing to go any further, and the third being of no use, as 
he was not acquainted with the river below. We there- 
fore took no Indians but our two chiefs, and resumed our 
journey in the presence of many of the Sokulks, who 



Down the Pacific Slope 197 

came to witness our departure. The morning was cool 
and fair, and the wind from the southeast." 

They now began again to meet Indians who had never 
before seen white men. On the nineteenth, says the 
journal : — 

"The great chief, with two of his inferior chiefs and a 
third belonging to a band on the river below, made us a 
visit at a very early hour. The first of these was called 
Yelleppit, — a handsome, well-proportioned man, about 
five feet eight inches high, and thirty-five years of age, with 
a bold and dignified countenance; the rest were not dis- 
tinguished in their appearance. We smoked with them, 
and after making a speech, gave a medal, a handkerchief, 
and a string of wampum to Yelleppit, but a string of wam- 
pum only to the inferior chiefs. He requested us to re- 
main till the middle of the day, in order that all his nation 
might come and see us; but we excused ourselves by tell- 
ing him that on our return we would spend two or three 
days with him. This conference detained us till nine 
o'clock, by which time great numbers of the Indians had 
come down to visit us. On leaving them we went on for 
eight miles, when we came to an island near the left 
shore, which continued six miles in length. At its lower 
extremity is a small island on which are five houses, at 
present vacant, though the scaffolds of fish are as usual 
abundant. A short distance below are two more islands, 
one of them near the middle of the river. On this there 
were seven houses, but as soon as the Indians, who were 
drying fish, saw us, they fled to their houses, and not 
one of them appeared till we had passed ; when they came 
out in greater numbers than is usual for houses of that 
size, which induced us to think that the inhabitants of 
the five lodges had been alarmed at our approach and 



1 98 First Across the Continent 

taken refuge with them. We were very desirous of land- 
ing in order to relieve their apprehensions, but as there 
was a bad rapid along the island all our care was neces- 
sary to prevent injury to the canoes. At the foot of this 
rapid is a rock on the left shore, which is fourteen miles 
from our camp of last night and resembles a hat in shape." 
Later in the day, Captain Clark ascended a bluff on 
the river bank, where he saw "a very high mountain 
covered with snow." This was Mount St. Helen's, in 
Cowlitz County, Washington. The altitude of the peak 
is nine thousand seven hundred and fifty feet. "Having 
arrived at the lower ends of the rapids below the bluff 
before any of the rest of the party, he sat down on 
a rock to wait for them, and, seeing a crane fly across 
the river, shot it, and it fell near him. Several Indians 
had been before this passing on the opposite side towards 
the rapids, and some who were then nearly in front 
of him, being either alarmed at his appearance or the 
report of the gun, fled to their houses. Captain Clark 
was afraid that these people had not yet heard that 
the white men were coming, and therefore, in order to 
allay their uneasiness before the rest of the party 
should arrive, he got into the small canoe with three 
men, rowed over towards the houses, and, while cross- 
ing, shot a duck, which fell into the water. As he ap- 
proached no person was to be seen except three men in 
the plains, and they, too, fled as he came near the shore. 
He landed in front of five houses close to each other, but 
no one appeared, and the doors, which were of mat, were 
closed. He went towards one of them with a pipe in his 
hand, and, pushing aside the mat, entered the lodge, 
where he found thirty-two persons, chiefly men and 
women, with a few children, all in the greatest con- 



Down the Pacific Slope 199 

sternation ; some hanging down their heads, others crying 
and wringing their hands. He went up to them, and 
shook hands with each one in the most friendly manner; 
but their apprehensions, which had for a moment sub- 
sided, revived on his taking out a burning-glass, as there 
was no roof to the house, and lighting his pipe: he then 
offered it to several of the men, and distributed among 
the women and children some small trinkets which he 
had with him, and gradually restored a degree of tran- 
quillity among them. 

" Leaving this house, and directing each of his men to 
visit a house, he entered a second. Here he found the 
inmates more terrified than those in the first ; but he suc- 
ceeded in pacifying them, and afterward went into the 
other houses, where the men had been equally successful. 
Retiring from the houses, he seated himself on a rock, 
and beckoned to some of the men to come and smoke 
with him; but none of them ventured to join him till 
the canoes arrived with the two chiefs, who immediately 
explained our pacific intention towards them. Soon after 
the interpreter's wife [Sacajawea] landed, and her pres- 
ence dissipated all doubts of our being well-disposed, 
since in this country no woman ever accompanies a war 
party : they therefore all came out, and seemed perfectly 
reconciled; nor could we, indeed, blame them for their 
terrors, which were perfectly natural. They told the two 
chiefs that they knew we were not men, for they had seen 
us fall from the clouds. In fact, unperceived by them, 
Captain Clark had shot the white crane, which they had 
seen fall just before he appeared to their eyes: the duck 
which he had killed also fell close by him; and as there 
were some clouds flying over at the moment, they con- 
nected the fall of the birds with his sudden appearance, 



200 First Across the Continent 

and believed that he had himself actually dropped from 
the clouds; considering the noise of the rifle, which they 
had never heard before, the sound announcing so extraor- 
dinary an event. This belief was strengthened, when, 
on entering the room, he brought down fire from the 
heavens by means of his burning-glass. We soon con- 
vinced them, however, that we were merely mortals ; 
and after one of our chiefs had explained our history and 
objects, we all smoked together in great harmony. 



Chapter XVI 

Down the Columbia to Tidewater 

THE voyagers were now drifting down the Columbia 
River, and they found the way impeded by many 
rapids, some of them very dangerous. But their skill in 
the handling of their canoes seems to have been equal to 
the occasion, although they were sometimes compelled to 
go around the more difficult rapids, making a short land 
portage. When they had travelled about forty miles down 
the river, they landed opposite an island on which were 
twenty-four houses of Indians ; the people, known as the 
Pishquitpahs, were engaged in drying fish. No sooner 
had the white men landed than the Indians, to the number 
of one hundred, came across the stream bringing with them 
some firewood, a most welcome present in that treeless 
country. The visitors were entertained with presents and 
a long smoke at the pipe of peace. So pleased were they 
with the music of two violins played by Cruzatte and Gib- 
son, of the exploring party, that they remained by the fire 
of the white men all night. The news of the arrival of the 
white strangers soon spread, and next morning about two 
hundred more of the Indians assembled to gaze on them. 
Later in the day, having gotten away from their numerous 
inquisitive visitors, the explorers passed down-stream and 
landed on a small island to examine a curious vault, in 
which were placed the remains of the dead of the tribe. 
The journal says : — 



202 First Across the Continent 

" This place, in which the dead are deposited, is a build- 
ing about sixty feet long and twelve feet wide, formed by 
placing in the ground poles or forks six feet high, across 
which a long pole is extended the whole length of the 
structure ; against this ridge-pole are placed broad boards 
and pieces of canoes, in a slanting direction, so as to form 
a shed. It stands east and west, and neither of the extrem- 
ities is closed. On entering the western end we observed 
a number of bodies wrapped carefully in leather robes, and 
arranged in rows on boards, which were then covered with 
a mat. This was the part destined for those who had re- 
cently died ; a little further on, bones half decayed were 
scattered about, and in the centre of the building was a 
large pile of them heaped promiscuously on each other. At 
the eastern extremity was a mat, on which twenty-one 
skulls were placed in a circular form ; the mode of inter- 
ment being first to wrap the body in robes, then as it 
decays to throw the bones into the heap, and place the 
skulls together. From the different boards and pieces of 
canoes which form the vault were suspended, on the inside, 
fishing-nets, baskets, wooden bowls, robes, skins, trenchers, 
and trinkets of various kinds, obviously intended as offer- 
ings of affection to deceased relatives. On the outside 
of the vault were the skeletons of several horses, and 
great quantities of their bones were in the neighbor- 
hood, which induced us to believe that these animals were 
most probably sacrificed at the funeral rites of their 
masters." 

Just below this stand the party met Indians who traded 
with tribes living near the great falls of the Columbia. 
That place they designated as " Tum-tum," a word that 
signifies the throbbing of the heart. One of these Indians 
had a sailor's jacket, and others had a blue blanket and a 



Down the Columbia to Tidewater 203 

scarlet blanket. These articles had found their way up the 
river from white traders on the seashore. 

On the twenty-first of October the explorers discovered 
a considerable stream which appeared to rise in the south- 
east and empty into the Columbia on the left. To this 
stream they gave the name of Lepage for Bastien Lepage, 
one of the voyageurs accompanying the party. The water- 
course, however, is now known as John Day's River. John 
Day was a mighty hunter and backwoodsman from Ken- 
tucky who went across the continent, six years later, with 
a party bound for Astoria, on the Columbia. From the 
rapids below the John Day River the Lewis and Clark party 
caught their first sight of Mount Hood, a famous peak of 
the Cascade range of mountains, looming up in the south- 
west, eleven thousand two hundred and twenty-five feet 
high. Next day they passed the mouth of another river 
entering the Columbia from the south and called by the 
Indians the Towahnahiooks, but known to modern geo- 
graphy as the Des Chutes, one of the largest southern 
tributaries of the Columbia. Five miles below the mouth 
of this stream the party camped. Near them was a party 
of Indians engaged in drying and packing salmon. Their 
method of doing this is thus described : — 

"The manner of doing this is by first opening the fish 
and exposing it to the sun on scafi"olds. When it is suffi- 
ciently dried it is pounded between two stones till it is pul- 
verized, and is then placed in a basket about two feet long 
and one in diameter, neatly made of grass and rushes, and 
lined with the skin of a salmon stretched and dried for the 
purpose. Here the fish are pressed down as hard as pos- 
sible, and the top is covered with fish-skins, which are se- 
cured by cords through the holes of the basket. These 
baskets are then placed in some dry situation, the corded 



204 First Across the Continent 

part upward, seven being usually placed as close as they 
can be put together, and five on the top of these. The 
whole is then wrapped up in mats, and made fast by cords, 
over which mats are again thrown. Twelve of these bas- 
kets, each of which contains from ninety to one hundred 
pounds, form a stack, which is left exposed till it is sent to 
market. The fish thus preserved keep sound and sweet 
for several years, and great quantities, they inform us, are 
sent to the Indians who live below the falls, whence it finds 
its way to the whites who visit the mouth of the Columbia. 
We observe, both near the lodges and on the rocks in the 
river, great numbers of stacks of these pounded fish. 
Besides fish, these people supplied us with filberts and 
berries, and we purchased a dog for supper ; but it was 
with much difficulty that we were able to buy wood 
enough to cook it." 

On the twenty-third the voyagers made the descent of 
the great falls which had so long been an object of dread 
to them. The whole height of the falls is thirty-seven feet, 
eight inches, in a distance of twelve hundred yards. A 
portage of four hundred and fifty yards was made around 
the first fall, which is twenty feet high, and perpendicular. 
By means of lines the canoes were let down the rapids 
below. At the season of high water the falls become mere 
rapids up which the salmon can pass. On this point the 
journal says : — 

" From the marks everywhere perceivable at the falls, it 
is obvious that in high floods, which must be in the spring, 
the water below the falls rises nearly to a level with that 
above them. Of this rise, which is occasioned by some ob- 
structions which we do not as yet know, the salmon must 
avail themselves to pass up the river in such multitudes 
that this fish is almost the only one caught in great abund- 



Down the Columbia to Tidewater 205 

ance above the falls ; but below that place we observe the 
salmon-trout, and the heads of a species of trout smaller 
than the salmon-trout, which is in great quantities, and 
which they are now burying, to be used as their winter 
food. A hole of any size being dug, the sides and bot- 
tom are lined w^th straw, over which skins are laid ; on 
these the fish, after being well dried, are laid, covered with 
other skins, and the hole is closed with a layer of earth 
twelve or fifteen inches deep. 

" We saw no game except a sea-otter, which was shot in 
the narrow channel as we were coming down, but we could 
not get it. Having, therefore, scarcely any provisions, we 
purchased eight small fat dogs : a food to which we were 
compelled to have recourse, as the Indians were very un- 
willing to sell us any of their good fish, which they reserved 
for the market below. Fortunately, however, habit had 
completely overcome the repugnance which we felt at first 
at eating this animal, and the dog, if not a favorite dish, 
was always an acceptable one. The meridian altitude of 
to-day gave 45° 42' 57.3" north as the latitude of our camp. 

" On the beach, near the Indian huts, we observed two 
canoes of a different shape and size from any which we 
had hitherto seen. One of these we got by giving our 
smallest canoe, a hatchet, and a few trinkets to the owner, 
who said he had obtained it from a white man below the 
falls in exchange for a horse. These canoes were very 
beautifully made : wide in the middle, and tapering towards 
each end, with curious figures carved on the bow. They 
were thin, but, being strengthened by crossbars about an 
inch in diameter, tied with strong pieces of bark through 
holes in the sides, were able to bear very heavy burdens, 
and seemed calculated to live in the roughest water," 



2o6 First Across the Continent 

At this point the ofificers of the expedition observed signs 
of uneasiness in the two friendly Indian chiefs who had 
thus far accompanied them. They also heard rumors that 
the warlike Indians below them were meditating an attack 
as the party went down. The journal says: — 

" Being at all times ready for any attempt of that sort, 
we were not under greater apprehensions than usual at this 
intelligence. We therefore only re-examined our arms, 
and increased the ammunition to one hundred rounds. 
Our chiefs, who had not the same motives of confidence, 
were by no means so much at their ease, and when at 
night they saw the Indians leave us earlier than usual, 
their suspicions of an intended attack were confirmed, and 
they were very much alarmed. 

" The Indians approached us with apparent caution, and 
behaved with more than usual reserve. Our two chiefs, 
by whom these circumstances were not observed, now told 
us that they wished to return home ; that they could be 
no longer of any service to us ; that they could not under- 
stand the language of the people below the falls ; that 
those people formed a different nation from their own ; that 
the two people had been at war with each other ; and that 
as the Indians had expressed a resolution to attack us, 
they would certainly kill them. We endeavored to quiet 
their fears, and requested them to stay two nights longer, 
in which time we would see the Indians below, and make a 
peace between the two nations. They replied that they 
were anxious to return and see their horses. We however 
insisted on their remaining with us, not only in hopes of 
bringing about an accommodation between them and their 
enemies, but because they might be able to detect any 
hostile designs against us, and also assist us in passing the 
next falls, which are not far off", and represented as very 



Down the Columbia to Tidewater 207 

difficult. They at length agreed to stay with us two nights 
longer." 

The explorers now arrived at the next fall of the Co- 
lumbia. Here was a quiet basin, on the margin of which 
were three Indian huts. The journal tells the rest of the 
story : — 

" At the extremity of this basin stood a high black rock, 
which, rising perpendicularly from the right shore, seemed 
to run wholly across the river : so totally, indeed, did it 
appear to stop the passage, that we could not see where 
the water escaped, except that the current was seemingly 
drawn with more than usual velocity to the left of the 
rock, where was heard a great roaring. We landed at 
the huts of the Indians, who went with us to the top of the 
rock, from which we had a view of all the difficulties of 
the channel. We were now no longer at a loss to account 
for the rising of the river at the falls ; for this tremendous 
rock was seen stretching across the river, to meet the high 
hills on the left shore, leaving a channel of only forty-five 
yards wide, through which the whole body of the Columbia 
pressed its way. The water, thus forced into so narrow a 
passage, was thrown into whirls, and swelled and boiled in 
every part with the wildest agitation. But the alternative 
of carrying the boats over this high rock was almost im- 
possible in our present situation ; and as the chief danger 
seemed to be, not from any obstructions in the channel, 
but from the great waves and whirlpools, we resolved to 
attempt the passage, in the hope of being able, by dexter- 
ous steering, to descend in safety. This we undertook, 
and with great care were able to get through, to the 
astonishment of the Indians in the huts we had just passed, 
who now collected to see us from the top of the rock. 
The channel continued thus confined for the space of about 



2o8 First Across the Continent 

half a mile, when the rock ceased. We passed a single 
Indian hut at the foot of it, where the river again enlarges 
to the width of two hundred yards, and at the distance of a 
mile and a half stopped to view a very bad rapid ; this is 
formed by two rocky islands which divide the channel, the 
lower and larger of which is in the middle of the river. The 
appearance of this place was so unpromising that we un- 
loaded all the most valuable articles, such as guns, ammu- 
nition, our papers, etc., and sent them by land, with all the 
men that could not swim, to the extremity of these rapids. 
We then descended with the canoes, two at a time ; 
though the canoes took in some water, we all went 
through safely ; after which we made two miles, stopped 
in a deep bend of the river toward the right, and camped 
a little above a large village of twenty-one houses. Here 
we landed ; and as it was late before all the canoes joined 
us, we were obliged to remain this evening, the difficulties 
of the navigation having permitted us to make only six 
miles." 

They were then among the Echeloots, a tribe of the 
Upper Chinooks, now nearly extinct. The white men 
were much interested in the houses of these people, which, 
their journal set forth, were " the first wooden buildings 
seen since leaving the Illinois country." This is the 
manner of their construction : — 

" A large hole, twenty feet wide and thirty in length, 
was dug to the depth of six feet ; the sides of which were 
lined with split pieces of timber rising just above the 
surface of the ground, and smoothed to the same width by 
burning, or by being shaved with small iron axes. These 
timbers were secured in their erect position by a pole 
stretched along the side of the building near the eaves, 
and supported on a strong post fixed at each corner. The 



Down the Columbia to Tidewater 209 



timbers at the gable ends rose gradually higher, the 
middle pieces being the broadest. At the top of these 
was a sort of semicircle, made to receive a ridge-pole the 
whole length of the house, propped by an additional post 
in the middle, and forming the top of the roof. From 
this ridge-pole to the eaves of the house were placed a 
number of small poles or rafters, secured at each end by 
fibres of the cedar. On these poles, which were connected 
by small transverse bars of wood, was laid a covering of 
white cedar, or arbor vitcs, kept on by strands of cedar 
fibres ; but a small space along the whole length of the 
ridge-pole was left uncovered, for the purpose of light, 
and of permitting the smoke to pass out. The roof, thus 
formed, had a descent about equal to that common among 
us, and near the eaves it was perforated with a number of 
small holes, made, most probably, for the discharge of 
arrows in case of an attack. The only entrance was by a 
small door at the gable end, cut out of the middle piece of 
timber, twenty-nine and a half inches high, fourteen inches 
broad, and reaching only eighteen inches above the earth. 
Before this hole is hung a mat; on pushing it aside and 
crawling through, the descent is by a small wooden ladder, 
made in the form of those used among us. One-half of 
the inside is used as a place of deposit for dried fish, of 
which large quantities are stored away, and with a few 
baskets of berries form the only family provisions ; the 
other half, adjoining the door, remains for the accommo- 
dation of the family. On each side are arranged near the 
walls small beds of mats placed on little scaffolds or bed- 
steads, raised from eighteen inches to three feet from the 
ground ; and in the middle of the vacant space is the fire, 
or sometimes two or three fires, when, as is usually the 
case, the house contains three families." 

H 



21 o First Across the Continent 

Houses very like these are built by the Ahts or Nootkas, 
a tribe of Indians inhabiting parts of Vancouver Island 
and the adjacent mainland. A Nootka calls his house an 
ourt. 

The good offices of Lewis and Clark, who were always 
ready to make peace between hostile tribes, were again 
successful here. The Echeloots received the white men 
with much kindness, invited them to their houses, and 
returned their visits after the explorers had camped. 
Lewis and Clark told the Echeloot chiefs that the war 
was destroying them and their industries, bringing want 
and privation upon them. The Indians listened with at- 
tention to what was said, and after some talk they agreed 
to make peace with their ancient enemies. Impressed 
with the sincerity of this agreement, the captains of the 
expedition invested the principal chief with a medal and 
some small articles of clothing. The two faithful chiefs 
who had accompanied the white men from the headwaters 
of the streams now bade farewell to their friends and 
allies, the explorers. They bought horses of the Eche- 
loots and returned to their distant homes by land. 

Game here became more abundant, and on the twenty- 
sixth of October the journal records the fact that they 
received from the Indians a present of deer-meat, and on 
that day their hunters found plenty of tracks of elk and 
deer in the mountains, and they brought in five deer, four 
very large gray squirrels, and a grouse. Besides these del- 
icacies, one of the men killed in the river a salmon-trout 
which was fried in bear's oil and, according to the journal, 
" furnished a dish of a very delightful flavor," doubtless a 
pleasing change from the diet of dog's flesh with which 
they had so recently been regaled. 

Two of the Echeloot chiefs remained with the white 



Down the Columbia to Tidewater 21 i 

men to guide them on their way down the river. These 
were joined by seven others of their tribe, to whom the 
explorers were kind and attentive. But the visitors could 
not resist the temptation to pilfer from the goods exposed 
to dry in the sun. Being checked in this sly business, 
they became ill-humored and returned, angry, down the 
river. 

The explorers noticed here that the Indians flattened 
the heads of males as well as females. Higher up the 
river, only the women and female children had flat heads. 
The custom of artificially flattening the heads of both men 
and women, in infancy, was formerly practised by nearly 
all the tribes of the Chinook family along the Columbia 
River. Various means are used to accomplish this pur- 
pose, the most common and most cruel being to bind a 
flat board on the forehead of an infant in such a way that 
it presses on the skull and forces the forehead up on to 
the top of the head. As a man whose head has been flat- 
tened in infancy grows older, the deformity partly disap- 
pears ; but the flatness of the head is always regarded as a 
tribal badge of great merit. 

" On the morning of the twenty-eighth," says the journal, 
" having dried our goods, we were about setting out, when 
three canoes came from above to visit us, and at the same 
time two others from below arrived for the same purpose. 
Among these last was an Indian who wore his hair in a 
que, and had on a round hat and a sailor's jacket, which 
he said he had obtained from the people below the great 
rapids, who bought them from the whites. This interview 
detained us till nine o'clock, when we proceeded down the 
river, which is now bordered with clifls of loose dark 
colored rocks about ninety feet high, with a thin covering 
of pines and other small trees. At the distance of four 



2 1 2 First Across the Continent 

miles we reached a small village of eight houses under 
some high rocks on the right with a small creek on the 
opposite side of the river. 

" We landed and found the houses similar to those we 
had seen at the great narrows ; on entering one of them 
we saw a British musket, a cutlass, and several brass tea- 
kettles, of which they seemed to be very fond. There 
were figures of men, birds, and different animals, which 
were cut and painted on the boards which form the sides 
of the room ; though the workmanship of these uncouth 
figures was very rough, they were highly esteemed by 
the Indians as the finest frescos of more civilized people. 
This tribe is called the Chilluckittequaw ; their language, 
though somewhat different from that of the Echeloots, has 
many of the same words, and is sufficiently intelligible 
to the neighboring Indians. We procured from them a 
vocabulary, and then, after buying five small dogs, some 
dried berries, and a white bread or cake made of roots, we 
left them. The wind, however, rose so high that we were 
obliged, after going one mile, to land on the left side, op- 
posite a rocky island, and pass the day." 

On the same day the white chiefs visited one of the most 
prominent of the native houses built along the river. 

" This," says the journal, " was the residence of the 
principal chief of the Chilluckittequaw nation, who we 
found was the same between whom and our two chiefs we 
had made a peace at the Echeloot village. He received 
us very kindly, and set before us pounded fish, filberts, 
nuts, the berries of the sacacommis, and white bread made 
of roots. We gave, in return, a bracelet of ribbon to each 
of the women of the house, with which they were very 
much pleased. The chief had several articles, such as 
scarlet and blue cloth, a sword, a jacket, and a hat, which 




Flattening a Chinook Baby".'? Head 



Down the Columbia to Tidewater 213 

must have been procured from the whites, and on one side 
of the room were two wide, split boards, placed together so 
as to make space for a rude figure of a man .cut and 
painted on them. On pointing to this, and asking him 
what it meant, he said something, of which all that we 
understood was ' good,' and then stepped up to the paint- 
ing, and took out his bow and quiver, which, with some 
other warlike instruments, were kept behind it. 

" He then directed his wife to hand him his medicine- 
bag, from which he drew out fourteen forefingers, which 
he told us had belonged to the same number of his ene- 
mies, whom he had killed in fighting with the nations to 
the southeast, in which direction he pointed ; alluding, no 
doubt, to the Snake Indians, the common enemy of the 
tribes on the Columbia. This bag is usually about two 
feet in length, and contains roots, pounded dirt, etc., which 
only the Indians know how to appreciate. It is sus- 
pended in the middle of the lodge ; and it is considered as 
a species of sacrilege for any one but the owner to touch 
it. It is an object of religious fear ; and, from its supposed 
sanctity, is the chief place for depositing their medals and 
more valuable articles. They have likewise small bags, 
which they preserve in their great medicine-bag, from 
whence they are taken, and worn around their waists and 
necks as amulets against any real or imaginary evils. 
This was the first time we had been apprised that the 
Indians ever carried from the field any other trophy than 
the scalp. These fingers were shown with great exultation ; 
and, after an harangue, which we were left to presume 
was in praise of his exploits, the chief carefully replaced 
them among the valuable contents of his red medicine- 
bag. The inhabitants of this village being part of the 
same nation with those of the village we had passed above, 



214 First Across the Continent 

the language of the two was the same, and their houses 
were of similar form and materials, and calculated to con- 
tain about thirty souls. They were unusually hospitable 
and good-humored, so that we gave to the place the 
name of the Friendly village. We breakfasted here ; and 
after purchasing twelve dogs, four sacks of fish, and a few 
dried berries, proceeded on our journey. The hills as we 
passed were high, with steep, rocky sides, with pine and 
white oak, and an undergrowth of shrubs scattered over 
them." 

Leaving the Friendly village, the party went on their 
way down the river. Four miles below they came to a 
small and rapid river which they called the Cataract River, 
but which is now known as the Klikitat. The rapids of 
the stream, according to the Indians, were so numerous 
that salmon could not ascend it, and the Indians who lived 
along its banks subsisted on what game they could kill 
with their bows and arrows and on the berries which, in 
certain seasons, were plentiful. Again we notice the pur- 
chase of dogs ; this time only four were bought, and the 
party proceeded on their way. That night, having travelled 
thirty-two miles, they camped on the right bank of the 
river in what is now Skamania County, Washington. 
Three huts were inhabited by a considerable number of 
Indians, of whom the journal has this to say: — 

" On our first arrival they seemed surprised, but not 
alarmed, and we soon became intimate by means of smok- 
ing and our favorite entertainment for the Indians, the 
violin. They gave us fruit, roots, and root-bread, and we 
purchased from them three dogs. The houses of these 
people are similar to those of the Indians above, and their 
language is the same ; their dress also, consisting of robes 
or skins of wolves, deer, elk, and wildcat, is made nearly 



Down the Columbia to Tidewater 2 1 5 

after the same model ; their hair is worn in plaits down 
each shoulder, and round their neck is put a strip of some 
skin with the tail of the animal hanging down over the 
breast ; hke the Indians above, they are fond of otter-skins, 
and give a great price for them. We here saw the skin of 
a mountain sheep, which they say lives among the rocks 
in the mountains ; the skin was covered with white hair ; 
the wool was long, thick, and coarse, with long coarse hair 
on the top of the neck and on the back, resembling some- 
what the bristles of a goat. Immediately behind the village 
is a pond, in which were great numbers of small swan." 

The " mountain sheep " mentioned here are not the big- 
horn of which we have heard something in the earlier part 
of this narrative, but a species of wild goat found among 
the Cascade Mountains. The " wildcat " above referred 
to is probably that variety of lynx known in Canada and 
most of the Northern States and the Pacific as the loiip- 
cervier, or vulgarly, the " lucifee." 

On the last day of October, the next of the more diffi- 
cult rapids being near. Captain Clark went ahead to ex- 
amine the " shoot," as the explorers called the place which 
we know as the chute. In the thick wood that bordered 
the river he found an ancient burial-place which he thus 
describes: — 

" It consists of eight vaults made of pine or cedar boards 
closely connected, about eight feet square and six in 
height ; the top covered with wide boards sloping a little, 
so as to convey off the rain. The direction of all of these 
vaults is east and west, the door being on the eastern side, 
partially stopped with wide boards decorated with rude 
pictures of men and other animals. On entering he found 
in some of them four dead bodies, carefully wrapped in 
skins, tied with cords of grass and bark, lying on a mat, in 



21 6 First Across the Continent 

a direction east and west. The other vaults contained 
only bones, which were in some of them piled to the height 
of four feet. On the tops of the vaults, and on poles 
attached to them, hung brass kettles and frying-pans with 
holes in their bottoms, baskets, bowls, sea-shells, skins, 
pieces of cloth, hair, bags of trinkets and small bones — 
the offerings of friendship or affection, which have been 
saved by a pious veneration from the ferocity of war, or 
the more dangerous temptations of individual gain. The 
whole of the walls as well as the door were decorated with 
strange figures cut and painted on them ; and besides 
were several wooden images of men, some so old and 
decayed as to have almost lost their shape, which were all 
placed against the sides of the vaults. These images, as 
well as those in the houses we have lately seen, do not 
appear to be at all the objects of adoration ; in this place 
they were most probably intended as resemblances of those 
whose decease they indicate ; when we observe them in 
houses, they occupy the most conspicuous part, but are 
treated more like ornaments than objects of worship." 

The white men were visited at their camp by many 
Indians from the villages farther up the stream. The 
journal says : — 

"We had an opportunity of seeing to-day the hardihood 
of the Indians of the neighboring village. One of the men 
shot a goose, which fell into the river and was floating rapidly 
toward the great shoot, when an Indian observing it plunged 
in after it. The whole mass of the waters of the Columbia, 
just preparing to descend its narrow channel, carried the ani- 
mal down with great rapidity. The Indian followed it fear- 
lessly to within one hundred and fifty feet of the rocks, where 
he would inevitably have been dashed to pieces ; but seiz- 
ing his prey he turned round and swam ashore with great 



Down the Columbia to Tidewater 217 

composure. We very willingly relinquished our right to 
the bird in favor of the Indian who had thus saved it at 
the imminent hazard of his life ; he immediately set to 
work and picked off about half the feathers, and then, 
without opening it, ran a stick through it and carried it 
off to roast." 

With many hair's-breadth escapes, the expedition now 
passed through the rapids or " great shoot." The river here 
is one hundred and fifty yards wide and the rapids are con- 
fined to an area four hundred yards long, crowded with 
islands and rocky ledges. They found the Indians living 
along the banks of the stream to be kindly disposed ; but 
they had learned, by their intercourse with tribes living 
below, to set a high value on their wares. They asked 
high prices for anything they had for sale. The journal 
says : — 

" We cannot learn precisely the nature of the trade 
cariied on by the Indians with the inhabitants below. But 
as their knowledge of the whites seems to be very imper- 
fect, and as the only articles which they carry to market, 
such as pounded fish, bear-grass, and roots, cannot be an 
object of much foreign traffic, their intercourse appears to 
be an intermediate trade with the natives near the mouth 
of the Columbia. From them these people obtain, in ex- 
change for their fish, roots, and bear-grass, blue and white 
beads, copper tea-kettles, brass armbands, some scarlet and 
blue robes, and a few articles of old European clothing. 
But their great object is to obtain beads, an article which 
holds the first place in their ideas of relative value, and to 
procure which they will sacrifice their last article of cloth- 
ing or last mouthful of food. Independently of their fond- 
ness for them as an ornament, these beads are the medium 
of trade, by which they obtain from the Indians still higher 



21 8 First Across the Continent 

up the river, robes, skins, chappelel bread, bear-grass, etc. 
Those Indians in turn employ them to procure from the 
Indians in the Rocky Mountains, bear-grass, pachico-roots, 
robes, etc. 

" These Indians are rather below the common size, with 
high cheek-bones; their noses are pierced, and in full 
dress ornamented with a tapering piece of white shell or 
wampum about two inches long. Their eyes are exceed- 
ingly sore and weak ; many of them have only a single 
eye, and some are perfectly blind. Their teeth prematurely 
decay, and in frequent instances are altogether worn away. 
Their general health, however, seems to be good, the only 
disorder we have remarked being tumors in different parts 
of the body." 

The more difficult rapid was passed on the second day of 
November, the luggage being sent down by land and the 
empty canoes taken down with great care. The journal 
of that date says : — 

" The rapid we have just passed is the last of all the 
descents of the Columbia. At this place the first tide- 
water commences, and the river in consequence widens 
immediately below the rapid. As we descended we 
reached, at the distance of one mile from the rapid, 
a creek under a bluff on the left; at three miles is the 
lower point of Strawberry Island. To this immediately 
succeed three small islands covered with wood. In the 
meadow to the right, at some distance from the hills, 
stands a perpendicular rock about eight hundred feet high 
and four hundred yards around the base. This we called 
Beacon Rock. Just below is an Indian village of nine houses, 
situated between two small creeks. At this village the 
river widens to nearly a mile in extent ; the low grounds 
become wider, and they as well as the mountains on each 



Down the Columbia to Tidewater 2 1 9 

side are covered with pine, spruce-pine, cottonwood, a 
species of ash, and some alder. After being so long accus- 
tomed to the dreary nakedness of the country above, the 
change is as grateful to the eye as it is useful in supplying 
us with fuel. Four miles from the village is a point of 
land on the right, where the hills become lower, but are 
still thickly timbered. The river is now about two miles 
wide, the current smooth and gentle, and the effect of the 
tide has been sensible since leaving the rapid. Six miles 
lower is a rock rising from the middle of the river to the 
height of one hundred feet, and about eighty yards at its 
base. We continued six miles further, and halted for the 
night under a high projecting rock on the left side of the 
river, opposite the point of a large meadow. 

" The mountains, which, from the great shoot to this 
place, are high, rugged, and thickly covered with timber, 
chiefly of the pine species, here leave the river on each side ; 
the river becomes two and one-half miles in width ; the low 
grounds are extensive and well supplied with wood. The 
Indians whom we left at the portage passed us on their 
way down the river, and seven others, who were descending 
in a canoe for the purpose of trading below, camped with 
us. We had made from the foot of the great shoot twenty- 
nine miles to-day. The ebb tide rose at our camp about 
nine inches; the flood must rise much higher. We saw 
great numbers of water-fowl, such as swan, geese, ducks of 
various kinds, gulls, plovers, and the white and gray brant, 
of which last we killed eighteen." 



Chapter XVII 
From Tidewater to the Sea 

N'^EAR the mouth of the river which the explorers 
named Quicksand River (now Sandy), they met a 
party of fifteen Indians who had lately been down to the 
mouth of the Columbia. These people told the white men 
that they had seen three vessels at anchor below, and, as 
these must needs be American, or European, the far-voy- 
aging explorers were naturally pleased. When they had 
camped that night, they received other visitors of whom 
the journal makes mention : — 

"A canoe soon after arrived from the village at the foot 
of the last rapid, with an Indian and his family, consisting 
of a wife, three children, and a woman who had been taken 
prisoner from the Snake Indians, living on a river from 
the south, which we afterward found to be the Multnomah. 
Sacajawea was immediately introduced to her, in hopes 
that, being a Snake Indian, they might understand each 
other; but their language was not sufficiently intelligible 
to permit them to converse together. The Indian had a 
gun with a brass barrel and cock, which he appeared to 
value highly." 

The party had missed the Multnomah River in their way 
down, although this is one of the three largest tributaries 
of the Columbia, John Day's River and the Des Chutes 
being the other two. A group of islands near the mouth 
of the Multnomah hides it from the view of the passing 
voyager. The stream is now more generally known as 



From Tidewater to the Sea 221 

the Willamette, or Wallamct. The large city of Portland, 
Oregon, is built on the river, about twelve miles from its 
junction with the Columbia. The Indian tribes along the 
banks of the Multnomah, or Willamette, subsisted 'largely 
on the wappatoo, an eatable root, about the size of a hen's 
egg and closely resembling a potato. This root is much 
sought after by the Indians and is eagerly bought by tribes 
living in regions where it is not to be found. The party 
made great use of the wappatoo after they had learned 
how well it served in place of bread. They bought here 
all that the Indians could spare and then made their way 
down the river to an open prairie where they camped for 
dinner and found many signs of elk and deer. The journal 
says : — 

" When we landed for dinner, a number of Indians from 
the last village came down for the purpose, as we sup- 
posed, of paying us a friendly visit, as they had put on 
their favorite dresses. In addition to their usual covering 
they had scarlet and blue blankets, sailors' jackets and 
trousers, shirts and hats. They had all of them either war- 
axes, spears, and bows and arrows, or muskets and pistols, 
with tin powder-flasks. We smoked with them and en- 
deavored to show them every attention, but we soon found 
them very assuming and disagreeable companions. While 
we were eating, they stole the pipe with which they were 
smoking, and the greatcoat of one of the men. We im- 
mediately searched them all, and discovered the coat 
stuffed under the root of a tree near where they were 
sitting ; but the pipe we could not recover. Finding us 
determined not to suffer any imposition, and discontented 
with them, they showed their displeasure in the only way 
which they dared, by returning in an ill-humor to their 
village. 



22 2 First Across the Continent 

" We then proceeded and soon met two canoes, with 
twelve men of the same Skilloot nation, who were on their 
way from below. The larger of the canoes was ornamented 
with the figure of a bear in the bow and a man in the stern, 
both nearly as large as life, both made of painted wood 
and very neatly fixed to the boat. In the same canoe 
were two Indians, finely dressed and with round hats. 
This circumstance induced us to give the name of Image- 
canoe to the large island, the lower end of which we now 
passed at the distance of nine miles from its head." 

Here they had their first full view of Mt. St. Helen's, 
sometimes called Mt. Ranier. The peak is in Washington 
and is 9,750 feet high. It has a sugar-loaf, or conical, 
shape and is usually covered with snow. The narrative of 
the expedition continues as follows : — 

" The Skilloots that we passed to-day speak a language 
somewhat different from that of the Echeloots or Chilluc- 
kittequaws near the long narrows. Their dress, however, is 
similar, except that the Skilloots possess more articles pro- 
cured from the white traders ; and there is this farther 
difference between them, that the Skilloots, both males and 
females, have the head flattened. Their principal food 
is fish, wappatoo roots, and some elk and deer, in killing 
which with arrows they seem to be very expert ; for during 
the short time we remained at the village, three deer were 
brought in. We also observed there a tame blaireau, 
[badger]." 

The journal, November 5, says: — 

" Our choice of a camp had been very unfortunate ; for 
on a sand-island opposite us were immense numbers of 
geese, swan, ducks, and other wild fowl, which during the 
whole night serenaded us with a confusion of noises which 
completely prevented our sleeping. During the latter 




AlULT.No.MAii Falls, Columulv Ruek 



From Tidewater to the Sea 223 

part of the night it rained, and we therefore wilHngly left 
camp at an early hour. We passed at three miles a small 
prairie, where the river is only three-quarters of a mile in 
width, and soon after two houses on the left, half a mile 
distant from each other; from one of which three men 
came in a canoe merely to look at us, and having done so 
returned home. At eight miles we came to the lower 
point of an island, separated from the right side by a 
narrow channel, on which, a short distance above the end 
of the island, is situated a large village. It is built more 
compactly than the generality of the Indian villages, and 
the front has fourteen houses, which are ranged for a 
quarter of a mile along the channel. As soon as we were 
discovered seven canoes came out to see us, and after 
some traffic, during which they seemed well disposed and 
orderly, accompanied us a short distance below." 

The explorers now met Indians of a different nation from 
those whom they had seen before. The journal says : — 

" These people seem to be of a different nation from 
those we have just passed ; they are low in stature, ill 
shaped, and all have their heads flattened. They call 
themselves VVahkiacum, and their language differs from 
that of the tribes above, with whom they trade for wappa- 
too-roots. The houses are built in a different style, being 
raised entirely above ground, with the eaves about five 
feet high and the door at the corner. Near the end, 
opposite this door, is a single fireplace, round which are 
the beds, raised four feet from the floor of earth ; over the 
fire are hung the fresh fish, which, when dried, are stowed 
away with the wappatoo-roots under the beds. The dress 
of the men is like that of the people above, but the women 
are clad in a peculiar manner, the robe not reaching lower 
than the hip, and the body being covered in cold weather 



2 24 First Across the Continent 

by a sort of corset of fur, curiously plaited and reaching 
from the arms to the hip ; added to this is a sort of petti- 
coat, or rather tissue of white cedar bark, bruised or 
broken into small strands, and woven into a girdle by 
several cords of the same material. ' Being tied round the 
middle, these strands hang down as low as the knee in front, 
and to the mid-leg behind; they are of sufficient thickness 
to answer the purpose of concealment whilst the female 
stands in an erect position, but in any other attitude form 
but a very ineffectual defence. Sometimes the tissue is 
strings of silk-grass, twisted and knotted at the end. After 
remaining with them about an hour, we proceeded down 
the channel with an Indian dressed in a sailor's jacket for 
our pilot, and on reaching the main channel were visited 
by some Indians who have a temporary residence on a 
marshy island in the middle of the river, where is a great 
abundance of water-fowl." 

The tribe of Indians known as the Wahkiacums has 
entirely disappeared; but the name survives as that of one 
of the counties of Washington bordering on the Columbia. 
Wahkiacum is the county lying next west of Cowlitz. 
When the explorers passed down the river under the 
piloting of their Indian friend wearing a sailor's jacket, 
they were in a thick fog. This cleared away and a sight 
greeted their joyful vision. Their story says : — 

" At a distance of twenty miles from our camp, we 
halted at a village of Wahkiacums, consisting of seven ill- 
looking houses, built in the same form with those above, 
and situated at the foot of the high hills on the right, be- 
hind two small marshy islands. We merely stopped to 
purchase some food and two beaver skins, and then pro- 
ceeded. Opposite to these islands the hills on the left 
retire, and the river widens into a kind of bay, crowded 



From Tidewater to the Sea 225 

with low islands, subject to be overflowed occasionally by 
the tide. We had not gone far from this village when, the 
fog suddenly clearing away, we were at last presented with 
the glorious sight of the ocean — that ocean, the object of 
all our labors, the reward of all our anxieties. This ani- 
mating sight exhilarated the spirits of all the party, who 
were still more delighted on hearing the distant roar of the 
breakers. We went on with great cheerfulness along the 
high, mountainous country which bordered the right bank: 
the shore, however, was so bold and rocky, that we could 
not, until at a distance of fourteen miles from the last vil- 
lage, find any spot fit for an encampment. Having made 
during the day thirty-four miles, we now spread our mats 
on the ground, and passed the night in the rain. Here we 
were joined by our small canoe, which had been separated 
from us during the fog this morning. Two Indians from 
the last village also accompanied us to the camp ; but, 
having detected them in stealing a knife, they were sent 
off." 

It is not very easy for us, who have lived comfortably at 
home, or who have travelled only in luxurious railway-cars 
and handsomely equipped steamers, to realize the joy and 
rapture with which these far-wandering explorers hailed 
the sight of the sea, — the sea to which they had so long 
been journeying, through deserts, mountain-passes, and 
tangled wildernesses. In his diary Captain Clark thus sets 
down some indication of his joy on that memorable day, 
November 8, 1805: "Great joy in camp. We are in 
view of the Ocean, this great Pacific Ocean which we have 
been so long anxious to see, and the roaring or noise made 
by the waves breaking on the rocky shores (as I suppose) 
may be heard distinctly." Later, same day, he says, 
" Ocean in view ! O ! the joy ! " Fortunately, the hard- 

15 



2 26 First Across the Continent 

ships to be undergone on the shores of the ocean were 
then unknown and undreamed of ; the travellers were 
thankful to see the sea, the goal of all their hopes, the 
end of their long pilgrimage across the continent. ^ 

That night they camped near the mouth of the river in 
what is now known as Gray's Bay, on the north side of the 
river, in the southwest corner of Wahkiacum County. Be- 
fore they could reach their camping-place, the water was 
so rough that some of the men had an unusual experience, 
— seasickness. They passed a disagreeable night on a 
narrow, rocky bench of land. Next day they say: 

" Fortunately for us, the tide did not rise as high as our 
camp during the night; but being accompanied by high 
winds from the south, the canoes, which we could not place 
beyond its reach, were filled with water, and were saved 
with much difficulty. Our position was very uncomfort- 
able, but as it was impossible to move from it, we waited for 
a change of weather. It rained, however, during the whole 
day, and at two o'clock in the afternoon the flood tide set 
in, accompanied by a high wind from the south, which, 
about four o'clock, shifted to the southwest and blew 
almost a gale directly from the sea. The immense waves 
now broke over the place where we were camped ; the 
large trees, some of them five or six feet thick, which had 
lodged at the point, were drifted over our camp, and the 
utmost vigilance of every man could scarcely save our 
canoes from being crushed to pieces. We remained in the 
water, and drenched with rain, during the rest of the day, 
our only food being some dried fish and some rain-water 
which we caught. Yet, though wet and cold, and some of 
them sick from using salt water, the men were cheerful, 
and full of anxiety to see more of the ocean. The rain 
continued all night." 



From Tidewater to the Sea 227 

This was the beginning of troubles. Next day, the wind 
having lulled, the party set forth again, only to be beaten 
back and compelled to take to the shore again. This was 
their experience for several days. For example, under 
date of the eleventh the journal says : — 

" The wind was still high from the southwest, and drove 
the waves against the shore with great fury ; the rain too 
fell in torrents, and not only drenched us to the skin, but 
loosened the stones on the hillsides, which then came rolling 
down upon us. In this comfortless situation we remained 
all day, wet, cold, with nothing but dried fish to satisfy our 
hunger ; the canoes in one place at the mercy of the waves, 
the baggage in another, and all the men scattered on float- 
ing logs, or sheltering themselves in the crevices of the 
rocks and hillsides. A hunter was despatched in hopes of 
finding some fresh meat; but the hills were so steep, and 
so covered with undergrowth and fallen timber, that he 
could not penetrate them, and he was forced to return." 

And this is the record for the next day : — 

" About three o'clock a tremendous gale of wind arose, 
accompanied with lightning, thunder, and hail : at six it 
lightened up for a short time, but a violent rain soon be- 
gan, and lasted through the day. During the storm, one 
of our boats, secured by being sunk with great quantities 
of stone, got loose, but, drifting against a rock, was re- 
covered without having received much injury. Our situa- 
tion now became much more dangerous, for the waves 
were driven with fury against the rocks and trees, which till 
now had afforded us refuge : we therefore took advantage 
of the low tide, and moved about half a mile round a point 
to a small brook, which we had not observed before on 
account of the thick bushes and driftwood which concealed 
its mouth. Here we were more safe, but still cold and 



2 28 First Across the Continent 

wet; our clothes and bedding rotten as well as wet, our 
baggage at a distance, and the canoes, our only means of 
escape from this place, at the mercy of the waves. Still, 
we continued to enjoy good health, and even had the 
luxury of feasting on some salmon and three salmon trout 
which we caught in the brook. Three of the men at- 
tempted to go round a point in our small Indian canoe, 
but the high waves rendered her quite unmanageable, 
these boats requiring the seamanship of the natives to 
make them live in so rough a sea." 

It should be borne in mind that the canoes of the ex- 
plorers were poor dug-outs, unfit to navigate the turbulent 
waters of the bay, and the men were not so expert in that 
sort of seamanship as were the Indians whom they, with 
envy, saw breasting the waves and making short voyages 
in the midst of the storms. It continued to rain without 
any intermission, and the waves dashed up among the float- 
ing logs of the camp in a very distracting manner. The 
party now had nothing but dried fish to eat, and it was with 
great difficulty that a fire could be built. On the fifteenth 
of the month, Captain Lewis having found a better camping- 
place near a sandy beach, they started to move their lug- 
gage thither ; but before they could get under way, a high 
wind from the southwest sprung up and they were forced 
to remain. But the sun came out and they were enabled 
to dry their stuff, much of which had been spoiled by the 
rain which had prevailed for the past ten days. Their fish 
also was no longer fit to eat, and they were indeed in poor 
case. Captain Lewis was out on a prospecting trip, and 
the party set out and found a beach through which a pleas- 
ant brook flowed to the river, making a very good camp- 
ing-place. At the mouth of this stream was an ancient 
Chinook village, which, says the journal, " has at present 



From Tidewater to the Sea 229 

no inhabitants but fleas." The adventurers were compelled 
to steer wide of all old Indian villages, they were so in- 
fested with fleas. At times, so great was the pest, the men 
were forced to take off" all their clothing and soak them- 
selves and their garments in the river before they could be 
rid of the insects. The site of their new camp was at the 
southeast end of Baker's Bay, sometimes called Haley's 
Bay, a mile above a very high point of rocks. On arriving 
at this place, the voyagers met with an unpleasant experi- 
ence of which the journal gives this account: — 

" Here we met Shannon, who had been sent back to 
meet us by Captain Lewis. The day Shannon left us in 
the canoe, he and Willard proceeded till they met a party 
of twenty Indians, who, having never heard of us, did not 
know where they [our men] came from ; they, however, 
behaved with so much civility, and seemed so anxious that 
the men should go with them toward the sea, that their 
suspicions were excited, and they declined going on. The 
Indians, however, would not leave them ; the men being 
confirmed in their suspicions, and fearful that if they went 
into the woods to sleep they would be cut to pieces in the 
night, thought it best to pass the night in the midst of the 
Indians. They therefore made a fire, and after talking 
with them to a late hour, laid down with their rifles 
under their heads. As they awoke that morning they 
found that the Indians had stolen and concealed their 
guns. Having demanded them in vain. Shannon seized a 
club, and was about assaulting one of the Indians, whom 
he suspected as a thief, when another Indian began to load 
a fowling-piece with the intention of shooting him. He 
therefore stopped, and explained by signs that if they did 
not give up the guns a large party would come down the 
river before the sun rose to such a height, and put every 



230 First Across the Continent 

one of them to death. Fortunately, Captain Lewis and 
his party appeared at this time. The terrified Indians 
immediately brought the guns, and five of them came on 
with Shannon. To these men we declared that if ever 
any one of their nation stole anything from us, he should 
be instantly shot. They reside to the north of this place, 
and speak a language different from that of the people 
higher up the river. 

" It was now apparent that the sea was at all times too 
rough for us to proceed further down the bay by water. 
We therefore landed, and having chosen the best spot we 
could select, made our camp of boards from the old [Chi- 
nook] village. We were now situated comfortably, and 
being visited by four Wahkiacums with wappatoo-roots, 
were enabled to make an agreeable addition to our food." 

On the seventeenth Captain Lewis with a small party of 
his men coasted the bay as far out as Cape Disappoint- 
ment and some distance to the north along the seacoast. 
Game was now plenty, and the camp was supplied with 
ducks, geese, and venison. Bad weather again set in. 
The journal under date of November 22 says: — 

" It rained during the whole night, and about daylight a 
tremendous gale of wind rose from the S.S.E., and con- 
tinued through the day with great violence. The sea ran 
so high that the water came into our camp, which the rain 
prevents us from leaving. We purchased from the old 
squaw, for armbands and rings, a few wappatoo-roots, on 
which we subsisted. They are nearly equal in flavor to 
the Irish potato, and afford a very good substitute for 
bread. The bad weather drove several Indians to our 
camp, but they were still under the terrors of the threat 
which we made on first seeing them, and behaved with the 
greatest decency. 



From Tidewater to the Sea 



231 



" The rain continued through the night, November 23, 
and the morning was calm and cloudy. The hunters were 
sent out, and killed three deer, four brant, and three ducks. 
Towards evening seven Clatsops came over in a canoe, 
with two skins of the sea-otter. To this article they 
attached an extravagant value; and their demands for it 
were so high, that we were fearful it would too much reduce 
our small stock of merchandise, on which we had to 
depend for subsistence on our return, to venture on pur- 
chasing it. To ascertain, however, their ideas as to the 
value of different objects, we offered for one of these skins 
a watch, a handkerchief, an American dollar, and a bunch 
of red beads; but neither the curious mechanism of the 
watch, nor even the red beads, could tempt the owner : he 
refused the offer, but asked for tiacomoshack, or chief 
beads, the most common sort of coarse blue-colored 
beads, the article beyond all price in their estimation. 
Of these blue beads we had but few, and therefore re- 
served them for more necessitous circumstances." 

The officers of the expedition had hoped and expected 
to find here some of the trading ships that were occasion- 
ally sent along the coast to barter with the natives ; but 
none were to be found. They were soon to prepare for 
winter-quarters, and they still hoped that a trader might 
appear in the spring before they set out on their homeward 
journey across the continent. Very much they needed 
trinkets to deal with the natives in exchange for the need- 
ful articles of food on the route. But (we may as well say 
here) no such relief ever appeared. It is strange that 
President Jefferson, in the midst of his very minute orders 
and preparations for the benefit of the explorers, did not 
think of sending a relief ship to meet the party at the 
mouth of the Columbia. They would have been saved a 



232 First Across the Continent 

world of care, worry, and discomfort. But at that time the 
European nations who held possessions on the Pacific coast 
were very suspicious of the Americans, and possibly Presi- 
dent Jefferson did not like to risk rousing their animosity. 

The rain that now deluged the unhappy campers was so 
incessant that they might well have thought that people 
should be web-footed to live in such a watery region. In 
these later days, Oregon is sometimes known as " The Web- 
foot State." Captain Clark, in his diary, November 28, 
makes this entry: "O! how disagreeable is our situation 
dureing this dreadfull weather ! " The gallant captain's spell- 
ing was sometimes queer. Under that date he adds : — 

" We remained during the day in a situation the most 
cheerless and uncomfortable. On this little neck of land 
we are exposed, with a miserable covering which does not 
deserve the name of a shelter, to the violence of the winds ; 
all our bedding and stores, as well as our bodies, are com- 
pletely wet ; our clothes are rotting with constant exposure, 
and we have no food except the dried fish brought from 
the falls, to which we are again reduced. The hunters 
all returned hungry and drenched with rain, having seen 
neither deer nor elk, and the swan and brant were too shy 
to be approached. At noon the wind shifted to the north- 
west, and blew with such tremendous fury that many trees 
were blown down near us. This gale lasted with short 
intervals during the whole night." 

Of course, in the midst of such violent storms, it was 
impossible to get game, and the men were obliged to 
resort once more to a diet of dried fish. This food caused 
much sickness in the camp, and it became imperatively 
necessary that efforts should again be made to find game. 
On the second of December, to their great joy an elk was 
killed, and next day they had a feast. The journal says : 



From Tidewater to the Sea 233 

" The wind was from the east and the morning fair ; but, 
as if one whole day of fine weather were not permitted, to- 
ward night it began to rain. Even this transient ghmpse 
of sunshine revived the spirits of the party, who were still 
more pleased when the elk killed yesterday was brought 
into camp. This was the first elk we had killed on the 
west side of the Rocky Mountains, and condemned as we 
have been to the dried fish, it formed a most nourishing 
food. After eating the marrow of the shank-bones, the 
squaw chopped them fine, and by boiling extracted a pint of 
grease, superior to the tallow itself of the animal. A canoe 
of eight Indians, who were carrying down wappatoo-roots 
to trade with the Clatsops, stopped at our camp ; we bought 
a few roots for small fish-hooks, and they then left us. 
Accustomed as we were to the sight, we could not but 
view with admiration the wonderful dexterity with which 
they guide their canoes over the most boisterous seas; for 
though the waves were so high that before they had gone 
half a mile the canoe was several times out of sight, they 
proceeded with the greatest calmness and security. Two 
of the hunters who set out yesterday had lost their way, 
and did not return till this evening. They had seen in their 
ramble great signs of elk and had killed six, which they 
had butchered and left at a great distance. A party was 
sent in the morning." 

On the third of December Captain Clark carved on the 
trunk of a great pine tree this inscription : — 

" WM. CLARK DECEMBER 3D 1 805 BY LAND FROM THE 
U. STATES IN 1804 & 5. " 

A few days later. Captain Lewis took with him a small 
party and set out to find a suitable spot on which to build 
their winter camp. He did not return as soon as he was 



2 34 First Across the Continent 

expected, and considerable uneasiness was felt in camp on 
that account. But he came in safely. He brought good 
news ; they had discovered a river on the south side of the 
Columbia, not far from their present encampment, where 
there were an abundance of elk and a favorable place for 
a winter camp. Bad weather detained them until the 
seventh of December, when a favorable change enabled 
them to proceed. They made their way slowly and very 
cautiously down-stream, the tide being against them. The 
narrative proceeds : — 

" We at length turned a point, and found ourselves 
in a deep bay : here we landed for breakfast, and were 
joined by the party sent out three days ago to look for 
the six elk, killed by the Lewis party. They had lost their' 
way for a day and a half, and when they at last reached 
the place, found the elk so much spoiled that they brought 
away nothing but the skins of four of them. After break- 
fast we coasted round the bay, which is about four miles 
across, and receives, besides several small creeks, two 
rivers, called by the Indians, the one Kilhowanakel, the 
other Netul. We named it Meriwether's Bay, from the 
Christian name of Captain Lewis, who was, no doubt, 
the first white man who had surveyed it. The wind was 
high from the northeast, and in the middle of the day it 
rained for two hours, and then cleared off. On reaching the 
south side of the bay we ascended the Netul three miles, 
to the first point of high land on its western bank, and 
formed our camp in a thick grove of lofty pines, about two 
hundred yards from the water, and thirty feet above the 
level of the hia-h tides." 



Chapter XVIII 

Camping by the Pacific 

NEXT in importance to the building of a winter 
camp was the fixing of a place where salt could 
be made. Salt is absolutely necessary for the comfort 
of man, and the supply brought out from the United 
States by the explorers was now nearly all gone. They 
were provided with kettles in which sea-water could be 
boiled down and salt be made. It would be needful to 
go to work at once, for the process of salt-making by 
boiling in ordinary kettles is slow and tedious; not only 
mu3t enough for present uses be found, but a supply to 
last the party home again was necessary. Accordingly, 
on the eighth of December the journal has this entry to 
show what was to be done: — 

" In order, therefore, to find a place for making salt, 
and to examine the country further, Captain Clark set 
out with five men, and pursuing a course S. 60° W. , over 
a dividing ridge through thick pine timber, much of 
which had fallen, passed the heads of two small brooks. 
In the neighborhood of these the land was swampy and 
overflowed, and they waded knee-deep till they came to 
an open ridgy prairie, covered with the plant known on 
our frontier by the name of sacacommis [bearberry]. Here 
is a creek about sixty yards wide and running toward Point 
Adams; they passed it on a small raft. At this place 
they discovered a large herd of elk, and after pursuing 



236 First Across the Continent 

them for three miles over bad swamps and small ponds, 
killed one of them. The agility with which the elk 
crossed the swamps and bogs seems almost incredible; as 
we followed their track the ground for a whole acre would 
shake at our tread, and sometimes we sunk to our hips 
without finding any bottom. Over the surface of these 
bogs is a species of moss, among which are great num- 
bers of cranberries; and occasionally there rise from the 
swamp small steep knobs of earth, thickly covered with 
pine and laurel. On one of these we halted at night, 
but it was scarcely large enough to suffer us to lie clear 
of the water, and had very little dry wood. We suc- 
ceeded, however, in collecting enough to make a fire; 
and having stretched the elk-skin to keep off the rain, 
which still continued, slept till morning." 

Next day the party were met by three Indians who had 
been fishing for salmon, of which they had a goodly 
supply, and were now on their way home to their village 
on the seacoast. They invited Captain Clark and his 
men to accompany them; and the white men accepted 
the invitation. These were Clatsops. Their village con- 
sisted of twelve families living in houses of split pine 
boards, the lower half of the house being underground. 
By a small ladder in the middle of the house-front, the 
visitors reached the floor, which was about four feet 
below the surface. Two fires were burning in the middle 
of the room upon the earthen floor. The beds were 
ranged around the room next to the wall, with spaces 
beneath them for bags, baskets, and household articles. 

Captain Clark was received with much attention, clean 
mats were spread for him, and a repast of fish, roots, and 
berries was set before him. He noticed that the Clatsops 
were well dressed and clean, and that they frequently 




Elk 



Camping by the Pacific 237 

washed their faces and hands, a ceremony, he remarked, 
that is by no means frequent among other Indians. A 
high wind now prevailed, and as the evening was stormy, 
Captain Clark resolved to stay all night with his hos- 
pitable Clatsops. The narrative proceeds: — 

"The men of the village now collected and began to 
gamble. The most common game was one in which one 
of the company was banker, and played against all the 
rest. He had a piece of bone, about the size of a large 
bean, and having agreed with any individual as to the 
value of the stake, would pass the bone from one hand 
to the other with great dexterity, singing at the same 
time to divert the attention of his adversary; then hold- 
ing it in his hands, his antagonist was challenged to 
guess in which of them the bone was, and lost or won as 
he pointed to the right or wrong hand. To this game 
of hazard they abandoned themselves with great ardor; 
sometimes everything they possess is sacrificed to it; and 
this evening several of the Indians lost all the beads 
which they had with them. This lasted for three hours; 
when, Captain Clark appearing disposed to sleep, the 
man who had been most attentive, and whose name was 
Cuskalah, spread two new mats near the fire, ordered his 
wife to retire to her own bed, and the rest of the com- 
pany dispersed at the same time. Captain Clark then 
lay down, but the violence with which the fleas attacked 
him did not leave his rest unbroken." 

Next morning, Captain Clark walked along the sea- 
shore, and he observed that the Indians were walking 
up and down, examining the shore and the margin of a 
creek that emptied here. The narrative says : — 

"He was at a loss to understand their object till one 
of them came to him, and explained that they were in 



238 First Across the Continent 

search of any fish which might have been thrown on 
shore and left by the tide, adding in English, ' sturgeon 
is very good.' There is, indeed, every reason to believe 
that these Clatsops depend for their subsistence, during 
the winter, chiefly on the fish thus casually thrown on 
the coast. After amusing himself for some time on the 
beach, he returned towards the village, and shot on his 
way two brant. As he came near the village, one of the 
Indians asked him to shoot a duck about thirty steps dis- 
tant : he did so, and, having accidentally shot off its 
head, the bird was brought to the village, when all the 
Indians came round in astonishment. They examined 
the duck, the musket, and the very small bullets, which 
were a hundred to the pound, and then exclaimed, Clouch 
viusqite, wakct, coinmatax musquet : Good miiskct ; do not 
■understand t/iis kind of viusket. They now placed before 
him their best roots, fish, and syrup, after which he 
attempted to purchase a sea-otter skin with some red 
beads which he happened to have about him; but they 
declined trading, as they valued none except blue or' 
white beads. He therefore bought nothing but a little 
berry-bread and a few roots, in exchange for fish-hooks, 
and then set out to return by the same route he had 
come. He was accompanied by Cuskalah and his brother 
as far as the third creek, and then proceeded to the camp 
through a heavy rain. The whole party had been occu- 
pied during his absence in cutting down trees to make 
huts, and in hunting." 

This was the occupation of all hands for several days, 
notwithstanding the discomfort of the continual down- 
pour. Many of the men were ill from the effects of 
sleeping and living so constantly in water. Under date 
of December 12, the journal has this entry: — 



Camping by the Pacific 239 

"We continued to work in the rain at our houses. In 
the evening there arrived two canoes of Clatsops, among 
whom was a principal chief, called Comowol. We gave 
him a medal and treated his companions with great 
attention; after which we began to bargain for a small 
sea-otter skin, some wappatoo-roots, and another species 
of root called shanataque. We readily perceived that 
they were close dealers, stickled much for trifles, and 
never closed the bargain until they thought they had the 
advantage. The wappatoo is dear, as they themselves 
are obliged to give a high price for it to the Indians 
above. Blue beads are the articles most in request; the 
white occupy the next place in their estimation ; but they 
do not value much those of any other color. We suc- 
ceeded at last in purchasing their whole cargo for a few 
fish-hooks and a small sack of Indian tobacco, which we 
had received from the Shoshonees. " 

The winter camp was made up of seven huts, and, 
although it was not so carefully fortified as was the fort in 
the Mandan country (during the previous winter), it was 
so arranged that intruders could be kept out when neces- 
sary. For the roofs of these shelters they were provided 
with "shakes" split out from a species of pine which 
they called "balsam pine," and which gave them boards, 
or puncheons, or shakes, ten feet long and two feet wide, 
and not more than an inch and a half thick. By the six- 
teenth of December their meat-house was finished, and 
their meat, so much of which had been spoiled for lack 
of proper care, was cut up in small pieces and hung 
under cover. They had been told by the Indians that 
very little snow ever fell in that region, and the weather, 
although very, very wet, was mild and usually free from 
frost. They did have severe hailstorms and a few flurries 



240 First Across the Continent 

of snow in December, but the rain was a continual cause 
of discomfort. Of the trading habits of the Clatsops the 
journal has this to say : — 

"Three Indians came in a canoe with mats, roots, and 
the berries of the sacacommis. These people proceed 
with a dexterity and finesse in their bargains which, if 
they have not learned it from their foreign visitors, may 
show how nearly allied is the cunning of savages to the 
little arts of traffic. They begin by asking double or 
treble the value of what they have to sell, and lower their 
demand in proportion to the greater or less degree of 
ardor or knowledge of the purchaser, who, with all his 
management, is not able to procure the article for less 
than its real value, which the Indians perfectly under- 
stand. Our chief medium of trade consists of blue and 
white beads, files, — with which they sharpen their tools, 
— fish-hooks, and tobacco; but of all these articles blue 
beads and tobacco are the most esteemed." 

But, although their surroundings were not of a sort to 
make one very jolly, when Christmas came they observed 
the day as well as they could. Here is what the journal 
says of the holiday : — 

"We were awaked at daylight by a discharge of fire- 
arms, which was followed by a song from the men, as a 
compliment to us on the return of Christmas, which we 
have always been accustomed to observe as a day of 
rejoicing. After breakfast we divided our remaining 
stock of tobacco, which amounted to twelve carrots 
[hands], into two parts; one of which we distributed 
among such of the party as make use of it, making a 
present of a handkerchief to the others. The remainder 
of the day was passed in good spirits, though there was 
nothing in our situation to excite much gayety. The 



Camping by the Pacific 241 

rain confined us to the house, and our only luxuries in 
honor of the season were some poor elk, so much spoiled 
that we ate it through sheer necessity, a few roots, and 
some spoiled pounded fish. 

"The next day brought a continuation of rain, accom- 
panied with thunder, and a high wind from the southeast. 
We were therefore obliged to still remain in our huts, 
and endeavored to dry our wet articles before the fire. 
The fleas, which annoyed us near the portage of the Great 
Falls, have taken such possession of our clothes that we 
are obliged to have a regular search every day through 
our blankets as a necessary preliminary to sleeping at 
night. These animals, indeed, are so numerous that 
they are almost a calamity to the Indians of this country. 
When they have once obtained the mastery of any house 
it is impossible to expel them, and the Indians have 
frequently different houses, to which they resort occa- 
sionally when the fleas have rendered their permanent 
residence intolerable; yet, in spite of these precautions, 
every Indian is constantly attended by multitudes of 
them, and no one comes into our house without leaving 
behind him swarms of these tormenting insects." 

Although the condition of the exploring party was low, 
the men did not require very much to put them in good 
spirits. The important and happy event of finishing 
their fort and the noting of good weather are thus set 
forth in the journal under date of December 30: — 

"Toward evening the hunters brought in four elk 
[which Drewyer had killed], and after a long course of 
abstinence and miserable diet, we had a most sumptuous 
supper of elk's tongues and marrow. Besides this agree- 
able repast, the state of the weather was quite exhilarat- 
ing. It had rained during the night, but in the morning, 

16 



2^2 First Across the Continent 

though the high wind continued, we enjoyed the fairest 
and most pleasant weather since our arrival; the sun 
having shone at intervals, and there being only three 
showers in the course of the day. By sunset we had 
completed the fortification, and now announced to the 
Indians that every day at that hour the gates would be 
closed, and they must leave the fort and not enter it till 
sunrise. The Wahkiacums who remained with us, and 
who were very forward in their deportment, complied 
very reluctantly with this order; but, being excluded 
from our houses, formed a camp near us. 

"January i, 1806. We were awaked at an early hour 
by the discharge of a volley of small arms, to salute the 
new year. This was the only mode of commemorating 
the day which our situation permitted; for, though we 
had reason to be gayer than we were at Christmas, our 
only dainties were boiled elk and wappatoo, enlivened 
by draughts of pure water. We were visited by a few 
Clatsops, who came by water, bringing roots and berries 
for sale. Among this nation we observed a man about 
twenty-five years old, of a much lighter complexion than 
the Indians generally: his face was even freckled, and 
his hair long, and of a colour inclining to red. He was 
in habits and manners perfectly Indian; but, though he 
did not speak a word of English, he seemed to under- 
stand more than the others of his party; and, as we could 
obtain no account of his origin, we concluded that one of 
his parents, at least, must have been white." 

A novel addition to their bill of fare was fresh blubber, 
or fat, from a stranded whale. Under date of January 3 
the journal says : — 

" At eleven o'clock we were visited by our neighbor, the 



Camping by the Pacific 243 

Tia or chief, Comowool, who is also called Coon6, and 
six Clatsops. Besides roots and berries, they brought 
for sale three dogs, and some fresh blubber. . Having 
been so long accustomed to live on the flesh of dogs, the 
greater part of us have acquired a fondness for it, and our 
original aversion for it is overcome, by reflecting that 
while we subsisted on that food we were fatter, stronger, 
and in general enjoyed better health than at any period 
since leaving the buffalo country, eastward of the moun- 
tains. The blubber, which is esteemed by the Indians 
an excellent food, has been obtained, they tell us, from 
their neighbors, the Killamucks, a nation who live on 
the seacoast to the southeast, near one of whose villages 
a whale had recently been thrown and foundered." 

Five men had been sent out to form a camp on the sea- 
shore and go into the manufacture of salt as expeditiously 
as possible. On the fifth of January, two of them came 
into the fort bringing a gallon of salt, which was decided 
to be "white, fine and very good," and a very agreeable 
addition to their food, which had been eaten perfectly 
fresh for some weeks past. Captain Clark, however, said 
it was a "mere matter of indifference" to him whether 
he had salt or not, but he hankered for bread. Captain 
Lewis, on the other hand, said the lack of salt was a 
great inconvenience; "the want of bread I consider 
trivial," was his dictum. It was estimated that the 
salt-makers could turn out three or four quarts a day, 
and there was good prospect of an abundant supply for 
present needs and for the homeward journey. An expe- 
dition to the seashore was now planned, and the journal 
goes on to tell how they set out : — 

"The appearance of the whale seemed to be a matter 
of importance to all the neighboring Indians, and as we 



244 First Across the Continent 

might be able to procure some of it for ourselves, or at 
least purchase blubber from the Indians, a small parcel 
of merchandise was prepared, and a party of the men held 
in readiness to set out in the morning. As soon as this 
resolution was known, Chaboneau and his wife requested 
that they might be permitted to accompany us. The 
poor woman stated very earnestly that she had travelled 
a great way with us to see the great water, yet she had 
never been down to the coast, and now that this mon- 
strous fish was also to be seen, it seemed hard that she 
should be permitted to see neither the ocean nor the 
whale. So reasonable a request could not be denied; 
they were therefore suffered to accompany Captain Clark, 
who, January 6th, after an early breakfast, set out with 
twelve men in two canoes." 

After a long and tedious trip, the camp of the salt- 
makers was reached, and Captain Clark and his men went 
on to the remains of the whale, only the skeleton being 
left by the rapacious and hungry Indians. The whale 
had been stranded between two shore villages tenanted 
by the Killamucks, as Captain Clark called them. They 
are now known as the Tillamook Indians, and their name 
is preserved in Tillamook County, Oregon. The white 
men found it difficult to secure much of the blubber, or 
the oil. Although the Indians had large quantities of 
both, they sold it with much reluctance. In Clark's 
private diary is found this entry: "Small as this stock 
[of oil and lubber] is I prize it highly; and thank Provi- 
dence for directing the whale to us; and think him more 
kind to us than he was to Jonah, having sent this monster 
to be swallowed by us instead of swallowing us as Jonah's 
did." While here, the party had a startling experience, 
as the journal says : — 



Camping by the Pacific 245 

" Whilst smoking with the Indians, Captain Clark was 
surprised, about ten o'clock, by a loud, shrill outcry from 
the opposite village, on hearing which all the. Indians 
immediately started up to cross the creek, and the guide 
informed him that someone had been killed. On exami- 
nation one of the men [M'Neal] was discovered to be 
absent, and a guard [Sergeant Pryor and four men] des- 
patched, who met him crossing the creek in great haste. 
An Indian belonging to another band, who happened to 
be with the Killamucks that evening, had treated him 
with much kindness, and walked arm in arm with him to 
a tent where our man found a Chinnook squaw, who was 
an old acquaintance. From the conversation and manner 
of the stranger, this woman discovered that his object 
was to murder the white man for the sake of the few 
articles on his person; when he rose and pressed our man 
to go to another tent where they would find something 
better to eat, she held M'Neal by the blanket; not know- 
ing her object, he freed himself from her, and was going 
on with his pretended friend, when she ran out and gave 
the shriek which brought the men of the village over, 
and the stranger ran off before M'Neal knew what had 
occasioned the alarm." 

The "mighty hunter" of the Lewis and Clark expedi- 
tion was Drewyer, whose name has frequently been men- 
tioned in these pages. Under date of January 12, the 
journal has this just tribute to the man: — • 

"Our meat is now becoming scarce; we therefore 
determined to jerk it, and issue it in small quantities, 
instead of dividing it among the four messes, and leaving 
to each the care of its own provisions; a plan by which 
much is lost, in consequence of the improvidence of the 
men. Two hunters had been despatched in the morning, 



246 First Across the Continent 

and one of them, Drewyer, had before evening killed 
seven elk. We should scarcely be able to subsist, were 
it not for the exertions of this most excellent hunter. 
The game is scarce, and nothing is now to be seen except 
elk, which for almost all the men are very difficult to 
be procured; but Drewyer, who is the offspring of a 
Canadian Frenchman and an Indian woman, has passed 
his life in the woods, and unites, in a wonderful degree, 
the dexterous aim of the frontier huntsman with the 
intuitive sagacity of the Indian, in pursuing the faintest 
tracks through the forest. All our men, however, have 
indeed become so expert with the rifle that we are never 
under apprehensions as to food; since, whenever there is 
game of any kind, we are almost certain of procuring it." 

The narrative of the explorers gives this account of the 
Chinooks: — 

"The men are low in stature, rather ugly, and ill 
made; their legs being small and crooked, their feet 
large, and their heads, like those of the women, flattened 
in a most disgusting manner. These deformities are in 
part concealed by robes made of sea-otter, deer, elk, 
beaver or fox skins. They also employ in their dress 
robes of the skin of a cat peculiar to this country, and of 
another animal of the same size, which is light and dur- 
able, and sold at a high price by the Indians who bring 
it from above. In addition to these are worn blankets, 
wrappers of red, blue, or spotted cloth, and some old 
sailors' clothes, which are very highly prized. The 
greater part of the men have guns, with powder and ball. 

"The women have in general handsome faces, but are 
low and disproportioned, with small feet and large legs, 
occasioned, probably, by strands of beads, or various 
strings, drawn so tight above the ankles as to prevent 



Camping by the Pacific 247 

the circulation of the blood. Their dress, like that of 
the Wahkiacums, consists of a short robe and a tissue 
of cedar bark. Their hair hangs loosely down the shoul- 
ders and back ; and their ears, neck, and wrists are orna- 
mented with blue beads. Another decoration, which is 
very highly prized, consists of figures made by punctur- 
ing the arms or legs; and on the arms of one of the 
squaws we observed the name of J. Bowman, executed in 
the same way. In language, habits, and in almost every 
other particular, they resemble the Clatsops, Cathlamahs, 
and, indeed, all the people near the mouth of the Colum- 
bia, though they appeared to be inferior to their neigh- 
bors in honesty as well as spirit. No ill treatment or 
indignity on our part seemed to excite any feeling except 
fear; nor, although better provided than their neighbors 
with arms, have they enterprise enough either to use 
them advantageously against the animals of the forest, or 
offensively against the tribes near them, who owe their 
safety more to the timidity than the forbearance of the 
Chinooks. We had heard instances of pilfering while 
we were among them, and therefore gave a general order 
excluding them from our encampment, so that whenever 
an Indian wished to visit us, he began by calling out 
'No Chinook.' It is not improbable that this first im- 
pression may have left a prejudice against them, since, 
when we were among the Clatsops and other tribes at 
the mouth of the Columbia, they had less opportunity of 
stealing, if they were so disposed." 

The weeks remaining before the party set out on their 
return were passed without notable incident. The jour- 
nal is chiefly occupied with comments on the weather, 
which was variable, and some account of the manners 
and customs of the Indian tribes along; the Columbia 



248 First Across the Continent 

River. At that time, so few traders had penetrated the 
wilds of the Lower Columbia that the Indians were not 
supplied with firearms to any great extent. Their main 
reliance was the bow and arrow. A few shotguns were 
seen among them, but no rifles, and great was the admi- 
ration and wonder with which the Indians saw the white 
men slay birds and animals at a long distance. Pitfalls 
for elk were constructed by the side of fallen trees over 
which the animals might leap. Concerning the manu- 
factures of the Clatsops, they reported as follows : — 

"Their hats are made of cedar-bark and bear-grass, 
interwoven together in the form of a European hat, with 
a small brim of about two inches, and a high crown 
widening upward. They are light, ornamented with vari- 
ous colors and figures, and being nearly water-proof, are 
much more durable than either chip or straw hats. These 
hats form a small article of traffic with the whites, and 
their manufacture is one of the best exertions of Indian 
industry. They are, however, very dexterous in making 
a variety of domestic utensils, among which are bowls, 
spoons, scewers [skewers], spits, and baskets. The bowl 
or trough is of different shapes — round, semicircular, in 
the form of a canoe, or cubic, and generally dug out of a 
single piece of wood ; the larger vessels have holes in the 
sides by way of handles, and all are executed with great 
neatness. In these vessels they boil their food, by 
throwing hot stones into the water, and extract oil from 
different animals in the same way. Spoons are not very 
abundant, nor is there anything remarkable in their 
shape, except that they are large and the bowl broad. 
Meat is roasted on one end of a sharp skewer, placed 
erect before the fire, with the other end fixed in the 
ground. 



Camping by the Pacific 249 

"But the most curious workmanship is that of the 
basket. It is formed of cedar-bark and bear-grass, so 
closely interwoven that it is water-tight, without the aid 
of either gum or resin. The form is generally conic, 
or rather the segment [frustum] of a cone, of which the 
smaller end is the bottom of the basket; and being made 
of all sizes, from that of the smallest cup to the capacity 
of five or six gallons, they answer the double purpose of 
a covering for the head or to contain water. Some of 
them are highly ornamented with strands of bear-grass, 
woven into figures of various colors, which require great 
labor; yet they are made very expeditiously and sold for 
a trifle. It is for the construction of these baskets that 
the bear-grass forms an article of considerable traffic. It 
grows only near the snowy region of the high mountains; 
the blade, which is two feet long and about three-eighths 
of an inch wide, is smooth, strong, and pliant; the young 
blades particularly, from their not being exposed to the 
sun and air, have an appearance of great neatness, and 
are generally preferred. Other bags and baskets, not 
waterproof, are made of cedar-bark, silk-grass, rushes, 
flags, and common coarse sedge, for the use of families. 
In these manufactures, as in the ordinary work of the 
house, the instrument most in use is a knife, or rather a 
dagger. The handle of it is small, and has a strong loop 
of twine for the thumb, to prevent its being wrested from 
the hand. On each side is a blade, double-edged and 
pointed ; the longer from nine to ten inches, the shorter 
from four to five. This knife is carried habitually in the 
hand, sometimes exposed, but mostly, when in company 
with strangers, is put under the robe." 

Naturally, all of the Columbia River Indians were 
found to be expert in the building and handling of 



250 First Across the Continent 

canoes. Here their greatest skill was employed. And, 
it may be added, the Indians of the North Pacific coast 
to-day are equally adept and skilful. The canoes of the 
present race of red men do not essentially differ from 
those of the tribes described by Lewis and Clark, and 
who are now extinct. The Indians then living above 
tide-water built canoes of smaller size than those em- 
ployed by the nations farther down the river. The 
canoes of the Tillamooks and other tribes living on the 
seacoast were upwards of fifty feet long, and would carry 
eight or ten thousand pounds' weight, or twenty-five or 
thirty persons. These were constructed from the trunk 
of a single tree, usually white cedar. The bow and stern 
rose much higher than the gunwale, and were adorned by 
grotesque figures excellently well carved and fitted to 
pedestals cut in the solid wood of the canoe. The same 
method of adornment may be seen among the aborigines 
of Alaska and other regions of the North Pacific, to-day. 
The figures are made of small pieces of wood neatly fitted 
together by inlaying and mortising, without any spike of 
any kind. When one reflects that the Indians seen by 
Lewis and Clark constructed their large canoes with very 
poor tools, it is impossible to withhold one's admiration 
of their industry and patience. The journal says : — 

" Our admiration of their skill in these curious con- 
structions was increased by observing the very inadequate 
implements which they use. These Indians possess very 
few axes, and the only tool they employ, from felling 
the tree to the delicate workmanship of the images, is a 
chisel made of an old file, about an inch or an inch and 
a half in width. Even of this, too, they have not learned 
the proper management; for the chisel is sometimes fixed 
in a large block of wood, and, being held in the right 



Camping by the Pacific 251 

hand, the block is pushed with the left, without the aid 
of a mallet. But under all these disadvantages, their 
canoes, which one would suppose to be the work of years, 
are made in a few weeks. A canoe, however, is very 
highly prized, being in traffic an article of the greatest 
value except a wife, and of equal value with her ; so that 
a lover generally gives a canoe to the father in exchange 
for his daughter. . . . 

"The harmony of their private life is secured by their 
ignorance of spirituous liquors, the earliest and most 
dreadful present which civilization has given to the other 
natives of the continent. Although they have had so 
much intercourse with whites, they do not appear to 
possess any knowledge of those dangerous luxuries; at 
least they have never inquired after them, which they 
probably would have done if once liquors had been intro- 
duced among them. Indeed, we have not observed any 
liquor of intoxicating quality among these or any Indians 
west of the Rocky Mountains, the universal beverage 
being pure water. They, however, sometimes almost 
intoxicate themselves by smoking tobacco, of which they 
are excessively fond, and the pleasures of which they 
prolong as much as possible, by retaining vast quantities 
at a time, till after circulating through the lungs and 
stomach it issues in volumes from the mouth and nostrils." 

A long period of quiet prevailed in camp after the first 
of February, before the final preparations for departure 
were made. Parties were sent out every day to hunt, 
and the campers were able to command a few days' 
supply of provision in advance. The flesh of the deer 
was now very lean and poor, but that of the elk was 
growing better and better. It was estimated by one of 
the party that they killed, between December i, 1805, 



252 First Across the Continent 

and March 20, 1806, elk to the number of one hundred 
and thirty-one, and twenty deer. Some of this meat 
they smoked for its better preservation, but most of it 
was eaten fresh. No record was kept of the amount of 
fish consumed by the party; but they were obliged at 
times to make fish their sole article of diet. Late in 
February they were visited by Comowool, the principal 
Clatsop chief, who brought them a sturgeon and quantities 
of a small fish which had just begun to make its appear- 
ance in the Columbia. This was known as the anchovy, 
but oftener as the candle-fish; it is so fat that it may be 
burned like a torch, or candle. The journal speaks of 
Comowool as "by far the most friendly and decent savage 
we have seen in this neighborhood." 



Chapter XIX 
With Faces turned Homeward 

THE officers of the expedition had decided to begin 
their homeward march on the first of April ; but a 
natural impatience induced them to start a little earlier, 
and, as a matter of record, it may be said that they evac- 
uated Fort Clatsop on the 23d of March, 1806. An ex- 
amination of their stock of ammunition showed that they 
had on hand a supply of powder amply sufficient for their 
needs when travelling the three thousand miles of wilder- 
ness in which their sole reliance for food must be the game 
to be killed. The powder was kept in leaden canisters, 
and these, when empty, were used for making balls for 
muskets and rifles. Three bushels of salt were collected 
for their use on the homeward journey. 

What they needed now most of all was an assortment 
of small wares and trinkets with which to trade with the 
Indians among whom they must spend so many months 
before reaching civilization again. They had ample letters 
of credit from the Government at Washington, and if they 
had met with white traders on the seacoast, they could 
have bought anything that money would buy. They had 
spent nearly all their stock in coming across the continent. 
This is Captain Lewis's summary of the goods on hand 
just before leaving Fort Clatsop: — 

" All the small merchandise we possess might be tied 
up in a couple of handkerchiefs. The rest of our stock in 



254 First Across the Continent 

trade consists of six blue robes, one scarlet ditto, five robes 
which we made out of our large United States flag, a few 
old clothes trimmed with ribbons, and one artillerist's uni- 
form coat and hat, which probably Captain Clark will never 
wear again. We have to depend entirely upon this meagre 
outfit for the purchase of such horses and provisions as it 
will be in our power to obtain — a scant dependence, in- 
deed, for such a journey as is before us." 

One of their last acts was to draw up a full list of the 
members of the party, and, making several copies of it, to 
leave these among the friendly Indians with instructions to 
give a paper to the first white men who should arrive in 
the country. On the back of the paper was traced the 
track by which the explorers had come and that by which 
they expected to return. This is a copy of one of these 
important documents : — 

" The object of this list is, that through the medium of 
some civilized person who may see the same, it may be 
made known to the informed world, that the party consist- 
ing of the persons whose names are hereunto annexed, and 
who were sent out by the government of the U'States in 
May, 1804, to explore the interior of the Continent of 
North America, did penetrate the same by way of the 
Missouri and Columbia Rivers, to the discharge of the 
latter into the Pacific Ocean, where they arrived on 
the 14th of November, 1805, and from whence they de- 
parted the 23d day of March, 1806, on their return to the 
United States by the same rout they had come out." 

Curiously enough, one of these papers did finally reach 
the United States. During the summer of 1806, the brig 
" Lydia," Captain Hill, entered the Columbia for the pur- 
pose of trading with the natives. From one of these Cap- 
tain Hill secured the paper, which he took to Canton, 



With Faces turned Homeward 255 

China, in January, 1807. Thence it was sent to a gentle- 
man in Philadelphia, having travelled nearly all the way 
round the world. 

Fort Clatsop, as they called the rude collection bf huts 
in which they had burrowed all winter, with its rude furni- 
ture and shelters, was formally given to Comowool, the 
Clatsop chief who had been so kind to the party. Doubt- 
less the crafty savage had had his eye on this establish- 
ment, knowing that it was to be abandoned in the spring. 

The voyagers left Fort Clatsop about one o'clock in the 
day, and, after making sixteen miles up the river, camped 
for the night. Next day, they reached an Indian village 
where they purchased " some wappatoo and a dog for the 
invalids." They still had several men on the sick list in 
consequence of the hard fare of the winter. The weather 
was cold and wet, and wood for fuel was difficult to obtain. 
In a few days they found themselves among their old 
friends, the Skilloots, who had lately been at war with the 
Chinooks. There was no direct intercourse between the 
two nations as yet, but the Chinooks traded with the Clat- 
sops and Wahkiacums, and these in turn traded with the 
Skilloots, and in this way the two hostile tribes exchanged 
the articles which they had for those which they desired. 
The journal has this to say about the game of an island on 
which the explorers tarried for a day or two, in order to 
dry their goods and mend their canoes : — 

" This island, which has received from the Indians the 
appropriate name of Elalah [Elallah], or Deer Island, is 
surrounded on the water-side by an abundant growth of 
Cottonwood, ash, and willow, while the interior consists 
chiefly of prairies interspersed with ponds. These afford 
refuge to great numbers of geese, ducks, large swan, sand- 
hill cranes, a few canvas-backed ducks, and particularly 



256 First Across the Continent 

the duckinmallard, the most abundant of all. There are 
also great numbers of snakes resembling our garter-snakes 
in appearance, and like them not poisonous. Our hunters 
brought in three deer, a goose, some ducks, an eagle, and 
a tiger-cat. Such is the extreme voracity of the vultures, 
that they had devoured in the space of a few hours four 
of the deer killed this morning; and one of our men de- 
clared that they had besides dragged a large buck about 
thirty yards, skinned it, and broken the backbone." 

The vulture here referred to is better known as the Cali- 
fornia condor, a great bird of prey which is now so nearly 
extinct that few specimens are ever seen, and the eggs 
command a great price from those who make collections 
of such objects. A condor killed by one of the hunters of 
the Lewis and Clark expedition measured nine feet and six 
inches from tip to tip of its wings, three feet and ten inches 
from the point of the bill to the end of the tail, and six 
inches and a half from the back of the head to the tip of 
the beak. Very few of the condors of the Andes are much 
larger than this, though one measuring eleven feet from 
tip to tip has been reported. 

While camped at Quicksand, or Sandy River, the party 
learned that food supplies up the Columbia were scarce. 
The journal says that the Indians met here were descend- 
ing the river in search of food. It adds : — 

" They told us, that they lived at the Great Rapids ; but 
that the scarcity of provisions there had induced them to 
come down, in the hopes of finding subsistence in the more 
fertile valley. All the people living at the Rapids, as well 
as the nations above them, were in much distress for want 
of food, having consumed their winter store of dried fish, 
and not expecting the return of the salmon before the next 
full moon, which would be on the second of May : this in- 



With Faces turned Homeward 257 

formation was not a little embarrassing. From the Falls 
to the Chopunnish nation, the plains afforded neither deer, 
elk, nor antelope for our subsistence. The horses were 
very poor at this season, and the dogs must be in the same 
condition, if their food, the dried fish, had failed. Still, it 
was obviously inexpedient for us to wait for the return of 
the salmon, since in that case we might not reach the Mis- 
souri before the ice would prevent our navigating it. We 
migrht, besides, hazard the loss of our horses, as the Cho- 
punnish, with whom we had left them, would cross the 
mountains as early as possible, or about the beginning of 
May, and take our horses with them, or suffer them to dis- 
perse, in either of which cases the passage of the moun- 
tains will be almost impracticable. We therefore, after 
much deliberation, decided to remain where we were till 
we could collect meat enough to last us till we should 
reach the Chopunnish nation, and to obtain canoes from 
the natives as we ascended, either in exchange for our 
pirogues, or by purchasing them with skins and merchan- 
dise. These canoes, again, we might exchange for horses 
with the natives of the plains, till we should obtain enough 
to travel altogether by land. On reaching the southeast 
branch of the Columbia, four or five men could be sent on 
to the Chopunnish to have our horses in readiness ; and 
thus we should have a stock of horses sufficient both to 
transport our baggage and supply us with food, as we now 
perceived that they would form our only certain depend- 
ance for subsistence." 

On the third of April this entry is made : — 

" A considerable number of Indians crowded about us 

to-day, many of whom came from the upper part of the 

river. These poor wretches confirm the reports of scarcity 

among the nations above ; which, indeed, their appearance 

17 



258 First Across the Continent 

sufficiently proved, for they seemed almost starved, and 
greedily picked the bones and refuse meat thrown away 
by us. 

" In the evening Captain Clark returned from an excur- 
sion. On setting out yesterday at half-past eleven o'clock, 
he directed his course along the south side of the [Columbia] 
river, where, at the distance of eight miles, he passed a 
village of the Nechacohee tribe, belonging to the Eloot 
nation. The village itself is small, and being situated 
behind Diamond Island, was concealed from our view as 
we passed both times along the northern shore. He con- 
tinued till three o'clock, when he landed at the single house 
already mentioned as the only remains of a village of twenty- 
four straw huts. Along the shore were great numbers of 
small canoes for gathering wappatoo, which were left by 
the Shahalas, who visit the place annually. The present 
inhabitants of the house are part of the Neerchokioo tribe 
of the same [Shahala] nation. On entering one of the 
apartments of the house, Captain Clark offered several 
articles to the Indians in exchange for wappatoo ; but 
they appeared sullen and ill-humored, and refused to give 
him any. He therefore sat down by the fire opposite the 
men, and taking a port-fire match from his pocket, threw 
a small piece of it into the flame ; at the same time he 
took his pocket-compass, and by means of a magnet, 
which happened to be in his inkhorn, made the needle 
turn round very briskly. The match now took fire and 
burned violently, on which the Indians, terrified at this 
strange exhibition, immediately brought a quantity of 
wappatoo and laid it at his feet, begging him to put out 
the bad fire, while an old woman continued to speak with 
great vehemence, as if praying and imploring protection. 
Having received the roots. Captain Clark put up the com- 



With Faces turned Homeward 259 

pass, and as the match went out of itself tranquiUity was 
restored, though the women and children still took refuge 
in their beds and behind the men. He now paid them for 
what he had used, and after lighting his pipe and smoking 
with them, continued down the river." 

The excursion from which Captain Clark had returned, 
as noted in this extract, was up the Multnomah River. 
As we have already seen, the explorers missed that stream 
when they came down the Columbia ; and they had now 
passed it again unnoticed, owing to the number of strag- 
gling islands that hide its junction with the Columbia. 
Convinced that a considerable river must drain the region 
to the south, Captain Clark went back alone and pene- 
trating the intricate channels among the islands, found the 
mouth of the Multnomah, now better known as the 
Willamette. He was surprised to find that the depth of 
water in the river was so great that large vessels might 
enter it. He would have been much more surprised if he 
had been told that a large city, the largest in Oregon, 
would some day be built on the site of the Indian huts 
which he saw. Here Captain Clark found a house occu- 
pied by several families of the Neechecolee nation. Their 
mansion was two hundred and twenty-six feet long and was 
divided into apartments thirty feet square. 

The most important point in this region of the Columbia 
was named Wappatoo Island by the explorers. This is a 
large extent of country lying between the Willamette and 
an arm of the Columbia which they called Wappatoo Inlet, 
but which is now known as Willamette Slough. It is 
twenty miles long and from five to ten miles wide. Here 
is an interesting description of the manner of gathering 
the roots of the wappatoo, of which we have heard so 
much in this region of country: — 



26o First Across the Continent 

" The chief wealth of this island consists of the numer- 
ous ponds in the interior, abounding with the common 
arrowhead (sagittaria sagittifolia) to the root of which is 
attached a bulb growing beneath it in the mud. This 
bulb, to which the Indians give the name of wappatoo, is 
the great article of food, and almost the staple article of 
commerce on the Columbia. It is never out of season ; so 
that at all times of the year the valley is frequented by the 
neighboring Indians who come to gather it. It is collected 
chiefly by the women, who employ for the purpose canoes 
from ten to fourteen feet in length, about two feet wide and 
nine inches deep, and tapering from the middle, where they 
are about twenty inches wide. They are sufficient to con- 
tain a single person and several bushels of roots, yet so very 
light that a woman can carry them with ease. She takes 
one of these canoes into a pond where the water is as high 
as the breast, and by means of her toes separates from the 
root this bulb, which on being freed from the mud rises 
immediately to the surface of the water, and is thrown 
into the canoe. In this manner these patient females 
remain in the water for several hours, even in the depth of 
winter. This plant is found through the whole extent of 
the valley in which we now are, but does not grow on the 
Columbia farther eastward." 

The natives of this inland region, the explorers found, 
were larger and better-shaped than those of the sea-coast, 
but they were nearly all afflicted with sore eyes. The loss 
of one eye was common, and not infrequently total blind- 
ness was observed in men of mature years, while blindness 
was almost universal among the old people. The white 
men made good use of the eye-water which was among 
their supplies ; it was gratefully received by the natives 
and won them friends among the people they met. On 
the fifth of April the journal has this entry: — 



With Faces turned Homeward 261 

" In the course of his chase yesterday, one of our men 
[CoHins], who had killed a bear, found the den of another 
with three cubs in it. He returned to-day in hopes of 
finding her, but brought only the cubs, without being 
able to see the dam ; and on this occasion Drewyer, our 
most experienced huntsman, assured us that he had never 
known a single instance where a female bear, which had 
once been disturbed by a hunter and obliged to leave her 
young, returned to them again. The young bears were 
sold for wappatoo to some of the many Indians who 
visited us in parties during the day and behaved very 
well." 

And on the ninth is this entry : — 

" The wind having moderated, we reloaded the canoes 
and set out by seven o'clock. We stopped to take up the 
two hunters who left us yesterday, but were unsuccessful 
in the chase, and then proceeded to the Wahclellah village, 
situated on the north side of the river, about a mile below 
Beacon Rock. During the whole of the route from camp 
we passed along under high, steep, and rocky sides of 
the mountains, which now close on each side of the river, 
forming stupendous precipices, covered with fir and white 
cedar. Down these heights frequently descend the most 
beautiful cascades, one of which, a large creek, throws it- 
self over a perpendicular rock three hundred feet above the 
water, while other smaller streams precipitate themselves 
from a still greater elevation, and evaporating in a mist, 
collect again and form a second cascade before they reach 
the bottom of the rocks. We stopped to breakfast at 
this village. We here found the tomahawk which had 
been stolen from us on the fourth of last November. They 
assured us they had bought it of the Indians below; but 
as the latter had already informed us that the Wahclellahs 



262 First Across the Continent 

had such an article, which they had stolen, we made no 
difhculty about retaking our property." 

The Columbia along the region through which the ex- 
pedition was now passing is a very wild and picturesque 
stream. The banks are high and rocky, and some of the 
precipices to which the journal refers are of a vast per- 
pendicular height. On the Oregon side of the river are 
five cascades such as those which the journal mentions. 
The most famous and beautiful of these is known as 
Multnomah Falls. This cataract has a total fall of more 
than six hundred feet, divided into two sections. The 
other cascades are the Bridal Veil, the Horsetail, the 
Latourelle, and the Oneonta, and all are within a few miles 
of each other. 

On the ninth of April the voyagers reached the point at 
which they were to leave tidewater, fifty-six miles above 
the mouth of the Multnomah, or Willamette. They were 
now at the entrance of the great rapids which are known 
as the Cascades of the Columbia, and which occupy a 
space on the river about equal to four miles and a half. 
They were still navigating the stream with their canoes, 
camping sometimes on the north side and sometimes on 
the south side of the river. This time they camped on the 
north side, and during the night lost one of their boats, 
which got loose and drifted down to the next village of the 
Wahclellahs, some of whom brought it back to the white 
men's camp and were rewarded for their honesty by a 
present of two knives. It was found necessary to make 
a portage here, but a long and severe rainstorm set in, and 
the tents and the skins used for protecting the baggage 
were soaked. The journal goes on with the narrative 
thus : — 

" We determined to take the canoes first over the port- 



itiili iilur 




Falls of the Columbia 



With Faces turned Homeward 263 

age, in hopes that by the afternoon the rain would cease, 
and we might carry our baggage across without injury. 
This was immediately begun by almost the whole party, 
who in the course of the day dragged four of the canoes 
to the head of the rapids, with great difficulty and labor. 
A guard, consisting of one sick man and three who had 
been lamed by accidents, remained with Captain Lewis 
[and a cook] to guard the baggage. This precaution was 
absolutely necessary to protect it from the Wahclellahs, 
whom we discovered to be great thieves, notwithstanding 
their apparent honesty in restoring our boat; indeed, so 
arrogant and intrusive have they become that nothing but 
our numbers, we are convinced, saves us from attack. 
They crowded about us while we were taking up the 
boats, and one of them had the insolence to throw stones 
down the bank at two of our men. 

"We now found it necessary to depart from our mild 
and pacific course of conduct. On returning to the head 
of the portage, many of them met our men and seemed 
very ill-disposed. Shields had stopped to purchase a dog, 
and being separated from the rest of the party, two Indians 
pushed him out of the road, and attempted to take the 
dog from him. He had no weapon but a long knife, with 
which he immediately attacked them both, hoping to put 
them to death before they had time to draw their arrows ; 
but as soon as they saw his design they fled into the 
woods. Soon afterward we were told by an Indian who 
spoke Clatsop, which we had ourselves learned during the 
winter, that the Wahclellahs had carried off Captain Lewis' 
dog to their village below. Three men well armed were 
instantly despatched in pursuit of them, with orders to fire 
if there was the slightest resistance or hesitation. At the 
distance of two miles they came within sight of the thieves. 



264 First Across the Continent 

who, finding themselves pursued, left the dog and made 
ofif. We now ordered all the Indians out of our camp, 
and explained to them that whoever stole any of our 
baggage, or insulted our men, should be instantly shot; 
a resolution which we were determined to enforce, as it 
was now our only means of safety, 

" We were visited during the day by a chief of the Clah- 
clellahs, who seemed mortified at the behavior of the 
Indians, and told us that the persons at the head of their 
outrages were two very bad men who belonged to the 
Wahclellah tribe, but that the nation did not by any means 
wish to displease us. This chief seemed v^ery well-disposed, 
and we had every reason to believe was much respected 
by the neighboring Indians. We therefore gave him a 
small medal and showed him all the attention in our 
power, with which he appeared very much gratified." 

The portage of these rapids was very difficult and tire- 
some. The total distance of the first stage was twenty-eight 
hundred yards along a narrow way rough with rocks and 
now slippery with rain. One of the canoes was lost here by 
being driven out into the strong current, where the force of 
the water was so great that it could not be held by the 
men ; the frail skiff drifted down the rapids and disappeared. 
They now had two canoes and two periogues left, and the 
loads were divided among these craft. This increased the 
difficulties of navigation, and Captain Lewis crossed over 
to the south side of the river in search of canoes to be 
purchased from the Indians, who lived in a village on that 
side of the stream. The narrative continues: — 

" The village now consisted of eleven houses, crowded with 
inhabitants, and about sixty fighting men. They were very 
well disposed, and we found no difficulty in procuring two 
small canoes, in exchange for two robes and four elk-skins. 



With Faces turned Homeward 265 

He also purchased with deer-skins three dogs, — an animal 
which has now become a favorite food, for it is found to be 
a strong, healthy diet, preferable to lean deer or elk, and 
much superior to horseflesh in any state. With these he 
proceeded along the south side of the river, and joined us 
in the evening." 

Above the rapids the party encountered two tribes of 
Indians from whom they endeavored to buy horses, for 
they were now approaching a point when they must leave 
the river and travel altogether by land. One of these 
tribes was known as the Weocksockwillacums, and the 
other was the Chilluckittequaws. These jaw-breaking 
names are commended to those who think that the Indian 
names of northern Maine are difficult to handle. Trees 
were now growing scarcer, and the wide lowlands spread 
out before the explorers stretched to the base of the Bitter 
Root Mountains without trees, but covered with luxuriant 
grass and herbage. After being confined so long to the 
thick forests and mountains of the seacoast, the party 
found this prospect very exhilarating, notwithstanding the 
absence of forests and thickets. The climate, too, was 
much more agreeable than that to which they had lately 
been accustomed, being dry and pure. 



Chapter XX 
The Last Stage of the Columbia 

ON the thirteenth of April the party reached the series 
of falls and rapids which they called the Long Nar- 
rows. At the point reached the river is confined, for a 
space of about fourteen miles, to narrow channels and 
rocky falls. The Long Narrows are now known as the 
Dalles. The word " dalles " is French, and signifies flag- 
stones, such as are used for sidewalks. Many of the rocks 
in these narrows are nearly flat on top, and even the pre- 
cipitous banks look like walls of rock. At the upper end 
of the rapids, or dalles, is Celilo City, and at the lower end 
is Dalles City, sometimes known as " The Dalles." Both 
of these places are in Oregon ; the total fall of the water 
from Celilo to the Dalles is over eighty feet. Navigation 
of these rapids is impossible. As the explorers had no 
further use for their pirogues, they broke them up for 
fuel. The merchandise was laboriously carried around 
on the river bank. They were able to buy four horses 
from the Skilloots for which they paid well in goods. It 
was now nearly time for the salmon to begin to run, and 
under date of April 19 the journal has this entry: — 

"The whole village was filled with rejoicing to-day at 
having caught a single salmon, which was considered as 
the harbinger of vast quantities in four or five days. In 
order to hasten their arrival the Indians, according to cus- 
tom, dressed the fish and cut it into small pieces, one of 



The Last Stage of the Columbia 267 

which was given to each child in the village. In the good 
humor excited by this occurrence they parted, though re- 
luctantly, with four other horses, for which we gave them 
two kettles, reserving only a single small one for 'a mess of 
eight men. Unluckily, however, we lost one of the horses 
by the negligence of the person to whose charge he was 
committed. The rest were, therefore, hobbled and tied; 
but as the nations here do not understand gelding, all the 
horses but one were stallions ; this being the season when 
they are most vicious, we had great difficulty in managing 
them, and were obliged to keep watch over them all night. 

" As it was obviously our interest to preserve the good- 
will of these people, we passed over several small thefts 
which they committed, but this morning we learnt that six 
tomahawks and a knife had been stolen during the night. 
We addressed ourselves to the chief, who seemed angry 
with his people, and made a harangue to them ; but we 
did not recover the articles, and soon afterward two of our 
spoons were missing. We therefore ordered them all from 
our camp, threatening to beat severely any one detected in 
purloining. This harshness irritated them so much that 
they left us in an ill-humor, and we therefore kept on our 
guard against any insult. Besides this knavery, the faith- 
lessness of the people is intolerable; frequently, after 
receiving goods in exchange for a horse, they return in a 
few hours and insist on revoking the bargain or receiving 
some additional value. We discovered, too, that the horse 
which was missing yesterday had been gambled away by 
the fellow from whom we had purchased him, to a man of 
a different nation, who had carried him off. We succeeded 
in buying two more horses, two dogs, and some chappelell, 
and also exchanged a couple of elk-skins for a gun belong- 



268 First Across the Continent 

ing to the chief. . . . One of the canoes, for which the 
Indians would give us very little, was cut up for fuel ; two 
others, together with some elk-skins and pieces of old iron, 
we bartered for beads, and the remaining two small ones 
were despatched early next morning, with all the baggage 
which could not be carried on horseback. We had in- 
tended setting out at the same time, but one of our horses 
broke loose during the night, and we were under the neces- 
sity of sending several men in search of him. In the mean 
time, the Indians, who were always on the alert, stole a 
tomahawk, which we could not recover, though several of 
them were searched ; and another fellow was detected in 
carrying off a piece of iron, and kicked out of camp ; upon 
which Captain Lewis, addressing them, told them he was 
not afraid to fight them, for, if he chose, he could easily 
put them all to death, and burn their village, but that he 
did not wish to treat them ill if they kept from stealing; 
and that, although, if he could discover who had the toma- 
hawks, he would take away their horses, yet he would 
rather lose the property altogether than take the horse of 
an innocent man. The chiefs were present at this harangue, 
hung their heads, and made no reply. 

" At ten o'clock the men returned with the horse, and 
soon after an Indian, who had promised to go with us as far 
as the Chopunnish, came with two horses, one of which he 
politely offered to assist in carrying our baggage. We 
therefore loaded nine horses, and, giving the tenth to Brat- 
ton, who was still too sick to walk, at about ten o'clock left 
the village of these disagreeable people." 

At an Indian village which they reached soon after 
leaving that of the disagreeable Skilloots, they found the 
fellow who had gambled away the horse that he had sold. 
Being faced with punishment, he agreed to replace the 



The Last Stage of the Columbia 269 

animal he had stolen with another, and a very good horse 
was brought to satisfy the white men, who were now 
determined to pursue a rigid course with the thievish In- 
dians among whom they found themselves. These people, 
the Eneeshurs, were stingy, inhospitable, and overbearing 
in their ways. Nothing but the formidable numbers of 
the white men saved them from insult, pillage, and even 
murder. While they were here, one of the horses belonging 
to the party broke loose and ran towards the Indian village. 
A buffalo robe attached to him fell off and was gathered in 
by one of the Eneeshurs. Captain Lewis, whose patience 
was now exhausted, set out, determined to burn the village 
unless the Indians restored the robe. Fortunately, how- 
ever, one of his men found the missing article hidden in a 
hut, and so any act of violent reprisal was not necessary. 

So scarce had now become fuel, the party were obliged 
to buy what little wood they required for their single cook- 
ing-fire. They could not afford a fire to keep them warm, 
and, as the nights were cold and they lay without any 
shelter, they were most uncomfortable, although the days 
were warm. They were now travelling along the Columbia 
River, using their horses for a part of their luggage, and 
towing the canoes with the remainder of the stuff. On the 
twenty-third of April they arrived at the mouth of Rock 
Creek, on the Columbia, a considerable stream which they 
missed as they passed this point on their way down, Oc- 
tober 21. Here they met a company of Indians called the 
Wahhowpum, with whom they traded pewter buttons, strips 
of tin and twisted wire for roots, dogs, and fuel. These 
people were waiting for the arrival of the salmon. The 
journal says : — 

" After arranging the camp we assembled all the war- 
riors, and having smoked with them, the violins were 



IJC) First Across the Continent 

produced, and some of the men danced. This civility was 
returned by the Indians in a style of dancing such as we 
had not yet seen. The spectators formed a circle round 
the dancers, who, with their robes drawn tightly round the 
shoulders, and divided into parties of five or six men, per- 
form by crossing in a line from one side of the circle to 
the other. All the parties, performers as well as specta- 
tors, sing, and after proceeding in this way for some time, 
the spectators join, and the whole concludes by a promis- 
cuous dance and song. Having finished, the natives retired 
at our request, after promising to barter horses with us in 
the morning." 

They bought three horses of these Indians and hired 
three more from a Chopunnish who was to accompany 
them. The journal adds : — 

"The natives also had promised to take our canoes in 
exchange for horses ; but when they found that we were 
resolved on travelling by land they refused giving us any- 
thing, in hopes that we would be forced to leave them. 
Disgusted at this conduct, we determined rather to cut 
them to pieces than suffer these people to enjoy them, 
and actually began to split them, on which they gave us 
several strands of beads for each canoe. We had now a 
sufficient number of horses to carry our baggage, and 
therefore proceeded wholly by land." 

Next day the party camped near a tribe of Indians 
known as the Pishquitpah. These people had never seen 
white men before, and they flocked in great numbers 
around the strangers, but were very civil and hospitable, 
although their curiosity was rather embarrassing. These 
people were famous hunters, and both men and women were 
excellent riders. They were now travelling on the south 
side of the river, in Oregon, and, after leaving the 



The Last Stage of the Columbia 271 

Pishquitpahs, they encountered the " Wollawollahs," as 
they called them. These Indians are now known as the 
Walla Walla tribe, and their name is given to a river, a 
town, and a fort of the United States. In several of the 
Indian dialects walla means " running water," and when 
the word is repeated, it diminishes the size of the object; 
so that Walla Walla means " little running water." Near 
here the explorers passed the mouth of a river which they 
called the Youmalolam ; it is a curious example of the 
difficulty of rendering Indian names into English. The 
stream is now known as the Umatilla. Here they found 
some old acquaintances of whom the journal has this 
account: — 

" Soon after we were joined by seven Wollawollahs, 
among whom we recognized a chief by the name of 
Yellept, who had visited us on the nineteenth of October, 
when we gave him a medal with the promise of a larger 
one on our return. He appeared very much pleased at 
seeing us again, and invited us to remain at his village 
three or four days, during which he would supply us with 
the only food they had, and furnish us with horses for our 
journey. After the cold, inhospitable treatment we have 
lately received, this kind offer was peculiarly acceptable ; 
and after a hasty meal we accompanied him to his village, 
six miles above, situated on the edge of the low country, 
about twelve miles below the mouth of Lewis' River. 

" Immediately on our arrival Yellept, who proved to be 
a man of much influence, not only in his own but in the 
neighboring nations, collected the inhabitants, and having 
made a harangue, the purport of which was to induce the 
nations to treat us hospitably, he set them an example 
by bringing himself an armful of wood, and a platter 
containing three roasted mullets. They immediately as- 



2/2 First Across the Continent 

sented to one part, at least, of the recommendation, by 
furnishing us with an abundance of the only sort of fuel 
they employ, the stems of shrubs growing in the plains. 
We then purchased four dogs, on which we supped heartily, 
having been on short allowance for two days past. When 
we were disposed to sleep, the Indians retired immediately 
on our request, and indeed, uniformly conducted them- 
selves with great propriety. These people live on roots, 
which are very abundant in the plains, and catch a few 
salmon-trout ; but at present they seem to subsist chiefly 
on a species of mullet, weighing from one to three pounds. 
They informed us that opposite the village there was a 
route which led to the mouth of the Kooskooskee, on the 
south side of Lewis' River ; that the road itself was good, 
and passed over a level country well supplied with water 
and grass ; and that we should meet with plenty of deer 
and antelope. We knew that a road in that direction 
would shorten the distance at least eighty miles ; and as 
the report of our guide was confirmed by Yellept and 
other Indians, we did not hesitate to adopt this route : 
they added, however, that there were no houses, nor per- 
manent Indian residences on the road and that it would 
therefore be prudent not to trust wholly to our guns, but 
to lay in a stock of provisions. 

" Taking their advice, therefore, we next day purchased 
ten dogs. While the trade for these was being conducted 
by our men, Yellept brought a fine white horse, and pre- 
sented him to Captain Clark, expressing at the same time 
a wish to have a kettle ; but, on being informed that we 
had already disposed of the last kettle we could spare, 
he said he would be content with any present we chose 
to make him in return. Captain Clark thereupon gave 
him his sword, for which the chief had before expressed 



The Last Stage of the Columbia 273 

a desire, adding one hundred balls, some powder, and 
other small articles, with which he appeared perfectly 
satisfied. We were now anxious to depart, and requested 
Yellept to lend us canoes for the purpose of crossing the 
river ; but he would not listen to any proposal of the kind. 
He wished us to remain for two or three days ; but, at all 
events, would not consent to our going to-day, for he had 
already sent to invite his neighbors, the Chimnapoos, to 
come down this evening and join his people in a dance for 
our amusement. We urged in vain that, by setting out 
sooner, we would the earlier return with the articles they 
desired ; for a day, he observed, would make but little 
difference. We at length mentioned that, as there was no 
wind it was now the best time to cross the river, and we 
would merely take the horses over and return to sleep at 
their village. To this he assented ; we then crossed with 
our horses, and having hobbled them, returned to their 
camp. 

" Fortunately, there was among these Wollwaollahs a 
prisoner belonging to a tribe of Shoshonee or Snake In- 
dians, residing to the south of the Multnomah and visiting 
occasionally the heads of Wollawollah Creek. Our Sho- 
shonee woman, Sacajawea, though she belonged to a tribe 
near the Missouri, spoke the same language as this pris- 
oner; by their means we were able to explain ourselves to 
the Indians, and answer all their inquiries with respect to 
ourselves and the object of our journey. Our conversa- 
tion inspired them with much confidence, and they soon 
brought several sick persons, for whom they requested our 
assistance. We splintered [splinted] the broken arm of 
one, gave some relief to another, whose knee was contracted 
by rheumatism, and administered what we thought benefi- 
cial for ulcers and eruptions of the skin on various parts of 

18 



274 First Across the Continent 

the body, which are very common disorders among them. 
But our most valuable medicine was eye-water, which we 
distributed, and which, indeed, they required very much. 

" A little before sunset the Chimnapoos, amounting to 
one hundred men and a few women, came to the village, 
and, joining the Wollawollahs, who were about the same 
number of men, formed themselves in a circle round our 
camp, and waited very patiently till our men were disposed 
to dance, which they did for about an hour, to the music 
of the violin. They then requested the Indians to dance. 
With this they readily complied ; and the whole assem- 
blage, amounting, with the women and children of the vil- 
lage, to several hundred, stood up, and sang and danced 
at the same time. The exercise was not, indeed, very 
violent nor very graceful ; for the greater part of them 
were formed into a solid column, round a kind of hollow 
square, stood on the same place, and merely jumped up at 
intervals, to keep time to the music. Some, however, of 
the more active warriors entered the square and danced 
round it sideways, and some of our men joined in with 
them, to the great satisfaction of the Indians. The dance 
continued till ten o'clock." 

By the thirtieth of April the expedition was equipped 
with twenty-three horses, most of which were young and 
excellent animals; but many of them were afflicted with 
sore backs. All Indians are cruel masters and hard riders, 
and their saddles are so rudely made that it is almost im- 
possible for an Indian's horse to be free from scars; yet 
they continue to ride after the animal's back is scarified in 
the most horrible manner. 

The expedition was now in what we know as Walla 
Walla County, Washington, and they were travelling along 
the river Walla Walla, leaving the Columbia, which has 



The Last Stage of the Columbia 275 

here a general direction of northerly. The course of the 
party was northeast, their objective point being that where 
Waitesburg is now built, near the junction of Coppie Creek 
and the Touchet River. They were in a region of wood in 
plenty, and for the first time since leaving the Long Nar- 
rows, or Dalles, they had as much fuel as they needed. 
On the Touchet, accordingly, they camped for the sake 
of having a comfortable night ; the nights were cold, and a 
good fire by which to sleep was an attraction not easily 
resisted. The journal, April 30, has this entry : — 

" We were soon supplied by Drewyer with a beaver and 
an otter, of which we took only a part of the beaver, and 
gave the rest to the Indians. The otter is a favorite food, 
though much inferior, at least in our estimation, to the dog, 
which they will not eat. The horse is seldom eaten, and 
never except when absolute necessity compels them, as the 
only alternative to dying of hunger. This fastidiousness 
does not, however, seem to proceed so much from any dis- 
like to the food, as from attachment to the animal itself; 
for many of them eat very heartily of the horse-beef which 
we give them." 

On the first day of May, having travelled forty miles 
from their camp near the mouth of the Walla Walla, they 
camped between two points at which are now situated the 
two towns of Prescott, on the south, and Waitesburg, on 
the north. Their journal says : — 

" We had scarcely encamped when three young men 
came up from the WoUawollah village, with a steel-trap 
which had inadvertently been left behind, and which they 
had come a whole day's journey in order to restore. This 
act of integrity was the more pleasing, because, though 
very rare among Indians, it corresponded perfectly with 
the general behavior of the Wollawollahs, among whom 



276 First Across the Continent 

we had lost carelessly several knives, which were always 
returned as soon as found. We may, indeed, justly affirm, 
that of all the Indians whom we had met since leaving the 
United States, the VVoUawoUahs were the most hospitable, 
honest, and sincere." 



Chapter XXI 
Overland east of the Columbia 

IT was now early in May, and the expedition, travel- 
ling eastward along Touchct Creek, were in the coun- 
try of their friends, the Chopunnish. On the third, they 
were agreeably surprised to meet Weahkootnut, whom 
they had named Bighorn from the fact that he wore a 
horn of that animal suspended from his left arm. This 
man was the first chief of a large band of Chopunnish, 
and when the expedition passed that way, on .their path 
to the Pacific, the last autumn, he was very obliging and 
useful to them, guiding them down the Snake, or Lewis 
River. He had now heard that the white men were on 
their return, and he had come over across the hills to 
meet them. As we may suppose, the meeting was very 
cordial, and Weahkootnut turned back with his white 
friends and accompanied them to the mouth of the Koos- 
kooskee, a stream of which our readers have heard before; 
it is now known as the Clearwater. 

Captain Lewis told Weahkootnut that his people were 
hungry, their slender stock of provisions being about 
exhausted. The chief told them that they would soon 
come to a Chopunnish house where they could get food. 
But the journal has this entry: — 

"We found the house which Weahkootnut had men- 
tioned, where we halted for breakfast. It contained six 
families, so miserably poor that all we could obtain from 



278 First Across the Continent 

them were two lean dogs and a few large cakes of half- 
cured bread, made of a root resembling the sweet potato, 
of all which we contrived to form a kind of soup. The 
soil of the plain is good, but it has no timber. The range 
of southwest mountains is about fifteen miles above us, 
but continues to lower, and is still covered with snow to 
its base. After giving passage to Lewis' [Snake] River, 
near their northeastern extremity, they terminate in a 
high level plain between that river and the Kooskooskee. 
The salmon not having yet called them to the rivers, the 
greater part of the Chopunnish are now dispersed in vil- 
lages through this plain, for the purpose of collecting 
quamash and cows, which here grow in great abundance, 
the soil being extremely fertile, in many places covered 
with long-leaved pine, larch, and balsam-fir, which con- 
tribute to render it less thirsty than the open, unsheltered 
plains." 

By the word "cows," in this sentence, we must under- 
stand that the story-teller meant cowas, a root eaten by 
the Indians and white explorers in that distant region. 
It is a knobbed, irregular root, and when cooked re- 
sembles the ginseng. At this place the party met some 
of the Indians whom Captain Clark had treated for 
slight diseases, when they passed that way, the previous 
autumn. They had sounded the praises of the white men 
and their medicine, and others were now waiting to be 
treated in the same manner. The Indians were glad to 
pay for their treatment, and the white men were not 
sorry to find this easy method of adding to their stock 
of food, which was very scanty at this time. The journal 
sagely adds, "We cautiously abstain from giving them 
any but harmless medicines ; and as we cannot possibly 
do harm, our prescriptions, though unsanctioned by the 



Overland east of the Columbia 279 

faculty, may be useful, and are entitled to some remu- 
neration." Very famous and accomplished doctors might 
say the same thing of their practice. But the explorers 
did not meet with pleasant acquaintances only;, in the 
very next entry is recorded this disagreeable incident : 

"Four miles beyond this house we came to another 
large one, containing ten families, where we halted and 
made our dinner on two dogs and a small quantity of 
roots, which we did not procure without much difficulty. 
Whilst we were eating, an Indian standing by, looking 
with great derision at our eating dogs, threw a poor half- 
starved puppy almost into Captain Lewis' plate, laughing 
heartily at the humor of it. Captain Lewis took up the 
animal and flung it with great force into the fellow's 
face; and seizing his tomahawk, threatened to cut him 
down if he dared to repeat such insolence. He imme- 
diately withdrew, apparently much mortified, and we 
continued our repast of dog very quietly. Here we met 
our old Chopunnish guide, with his family; and soon 
afterward one of our horses, which had been separated 
from the rest in charge of Twisted-hair, and had been 
in this neighborhood for several weeks, was caught and 
restored to us." 

Later in that day the party came to a Chopunnish house 
which was one hundred and fifty-six feet long and fifteen 
feet wide. Thirty families were living in this big house, 
each family having its fire by itself burning on the 
earthen floor, along through the middle of the great 
structure. The journal says: — 

" We arrived very hungry and weary, but could not 
purchase any provisions, except a small quantity of the 
roots and bread of the cows. They had, however, heard 
of our medical skill, and made many applications for 



28o P'irst Across the Continent 

assistance, but we refused to do anything unless they 
gave us either dogs or horses to eat. We soon had 
nearly fifty patients. A chief brought his wife with an 
abscess on her back, and promised to furnish us with a 
horse to-morrow if we would relieve her. Captain Clark, 
therefore, opened the abscess, introduced a tent, and 
dressed it with basilicon. We also prepared and dis- 
tributed some doses of flour of sulphur and cream of 
tartar, with directions for its use. For these we ob- 
tained several dogs, but too poor for use, and therefore 
postponed our medical operations till the morning. In 
the mean time a number of Indians, besides the residents 
of the village, gathered about us or camped in the woody 
bottom of the creek." 

It will be recollected that when the expedition was in 
this region (on the Kooskooskee), during the previous 
September, on their way westward, they left their horses 
with Chief Twisted-hair, travelling overland from that 
point. They were now looking for that chief, and the 
journal says : — 

"About two o'clock we collected our horses and set 
out, accompanied by Weahkoonut, with ten or twelve 
men and a man who said he was the brother of Twisted- 
hair. At four miles we came to a single house of three 
families, but could not procure provisions of any kind; 
and five miles further we halted for the night near another 
house, built like the rest, of sticks, mats, and dried hay, 
and containing six families. It was now so difficult to 
procure anything to eat that our chief dependence was on 
the horse which we received yesterday for medicine; but 
to our great disappointment he broke the rope by which 
he was confined, made his escape, and left us supperless 
in the rain." 



Overland east of the Columbia 281 

Next clay they met an Indian who brought them two 
canisters of powder, which they at once knew to be some 
of that which they had buried last autumn. The Indian 
said that his dog had dug it up in the meadow -by the 
river, and he had restored it to its rightful owners. As 
a reward for his honesty, the captains gave him a flint 
and steel for striking fire; and they regretted that their 
own poverty prevented them from being more liberal to 
the man. 

They observed that the Rocky Mountains, now in full 
sight, were still covered with snow, and the prospect of 
crossing them was not very rosy. Their Chopunnish 
guide told them that it would be impossible to cross 
the mountains before the next full moon, which would be 
about the first of June. The journal adds: "To us, who 
are desirous of reaching the plains of the Missouri — if 
for no other reason, for the purpose of enjoying a good 
meal — this intelligence was by no means welcome, and 
gave no relish to the remainder of the horse killed at 
Colter's Creek, which formed our supper, as part of which 
had already been our dinner." Next day, accordingly, 
the hunters turned out early in the morning, and before 
noon returned with four deer and a duck, which, with the 
remains of horse-beef on hand, gave them a much more 
plentiful stock of provisions than had lately fallen to 
their lot. During the previous winter, they were told, 
the Indians suffered very much for lack of food, game of 
all sorts being scarce. They were forced to boil and eat 
the moss growing on the trees, and they cut down the 
pine-trees for the sake of the small nut to be found in 
the pine-cones. Here they were met by an old friend, 
Neeshnepahkeeook and the Shoshonee, who had acted as 
interpreter for them. The journal says: — 



282 First Across the Continent 

"We gave Neeshnepahkeeook and his people some of 
our game and horse-beef, besides the entrails of the deer, 
and four fawns which we found inside of two of them. 
They did not eat any of them perfectly raw, but the 
entrails had very little cooking; the fawns were boiled 
whole, and the hide, hair, and entrails all consumed. 
The Shoshonee was offended at not having as much 
venison as he wished, and refused to interpret; but as 
we took no notice of him, he became very officious in the 
course of a few hours, and made many efforts to reinstate 
himself in our favor. The brother of Twisted-hair, and 
Neeshnepahkeeook, now drew a sketch, which we pre- 
served, of all the waters west of the Rocky Mountains." 

They now met Twisted-hair, in whose care they had 
left their horses and saddles the previous fall, and this 
was the result of their inquiries : — 

"Between three and four o'clock in the afternoon we 
set out, in company with Neeshnepahkeeook and other 
Indians, the brother of Twisted-hair having left us. Our 
route was up a high steep hill to a level plain with little 
wood, through which we passed in a direction parallel to 
the [Kooskooskee] River for four miles, when we met 
Twisted-hair and six of his people. To this chief we 
had confided our horses and a part of our saddles last 
autumn, and we therefore formed very unfavorable con- 
jectures on finding that he received us with great cold- 
ness. Shortly afterward he began to speak in a very 
loud, angry manner, and was answered by Neeshnepah- 
keeook. We now discovered that a violent quarrel had 
arisen between these chiefs, on the subject, as we after- 
ward understood, of our horses. But as we could not 
learn the cause, and were desirous of terminating the 
dispute, we interposed, and told them we should go on 



Overland east of the Columbia 283 

to the first water and camp. We therefore set out, 
followed by all the Indians, and having reached, at two 
miles' distance, a small stream running to the right, we 
camped with the two chiefs and their little bands, form- 
ing separate camps at a distance from each other. They 
all appeared to be in an ill humor; and as we had al- 
ready heard reports that the Indians had discovered and 
carried off our saddles, and that the horses were very 
much scattered, we began to be uneasy, lest there should 
be too much foundation for the report. We were there- 
fore anxious to reconcile the two chiefs as soon as pos- 
sible, and desired the Shoshonee to interpret for us 
while we attempted a mediation, but he peremptorily 
refused to speak a word. He observed that it was a 
quarrel between the two chiefs, and he had therefore no 
right to interfere; nor could all our representations, that 
by merely repeating what we said he could not possibly 
be considered as meddling between the chiefs, induce 
him to take any part in it. 

" Soon afterward Drewyer returned from hunting, and 
was sent to invite Twisted-hair to come and smoke with 
us. He accepted the invitation, and as we were smoking 
the pipe over our fire he informed us that according to 
his promise on leaving us at the falls of the Columbia, 
he had collected our horses and taken charge of them as 
soon as he reached home. But about this time Neeshne- 
pahkeeook and Tunnachemootoolt (Broken-arm) who, as 
we passed, were on a war-party against the Shoshonees 
on the south branch of Lewis' River, returned; and 
becoming jealous of him, because the horses had been 
confided to his care, were constantly quarrelling with 
him. At length, being an old man and unwilling to live 
in perpetual dispute with these two chiefs, he had given 



284 First Across the Continent 

up the care of the horses, which had consequently become 
very much scattered. The greater part of them were, 
however, still in the neighborhood; some in the forks 
between the Chopunnish and Kooskooskee, and three or 
four at the village of Broken Arm, about half a day's 
march higher up the river. He added, that on the rise 
of the river in the spring, the earth had fallen from the 
door of the cache, and exposed the saddles, some of which 
had probably been lost; but that, as soon as he was 
acquainted with the situation of them, he had them 
buried in another deposit, where they now were. He 
promised that, if we would stay the next day at his 
house, a few miles distant, he would collect such of the 
horses as were in the neighborhood, and send his young 
men for those in the forks, over the Kooskooskee. He 
moreover advised us to visit Broken Arm, who was a 
chief of great eminence, and he would himself guide us 
to his dwelling. 

"We told him that we would follow his advice in every 
respect; that we had confided our horses to his care, 
and expected he would deliver them to us, on which we 
should cheerfully give him the two guns and the ammu- 
nition we had promised him. With this he seemed very 
much pleased, and declared he would use every exertion 
to restore the horses. We now sent for Neeshnepah- 
keeook, or Cut Nose, and, after smoking for some time, 
began by expressing to the two chiefs our regret at seeing 
a misunderstanding between them. Neeshnepahkeeook 
replied that Twisted Hair was a bad old man, and wore 
two faces; for, instead of taking care of our horses, he 
had suffered his young men to hunt with them, so that 
they had been very much injured, and it was for this 
reason that Broken Arm and himself had forbidden him to 



Overland east of the Columbia 285 

use them. Twisted Hair made no reply to this speech, 
and we then told Neeshnepahkeeook of our arrangement 
for the next day. He appeared to be very well satisfied, 
and said he would himself go with us to Broken Arm, 
who expected to see us, and had two bad horses for us; 
by which expression we understood that Broken Arm 
intended to make us a present of two horses." 

Next day, the party reached the house of Twisted-hair, 
and began to look for their horses and saddles. The 
journal gives this account of the search: — 

" Late in the afternoon, Twisted-hair returned with 
about half the saddles we had left in the autumn, and 
some powder and lead which were buried at the same place. 
Soon after, the Indians brought us twenty-one of our 
horses, the greater part of which were in excellent order, 
though some had not yet recovered from hard usage, and 
three had sore backs. We were, however, very glad to 
procure them in any condition. Several Indians came 
down from the village of Tunnachemootoolt and passed 
the night with us. Cut-nose and Twisted-hair seem now 
perfectly reconciled, for they both slept in the house of 
the latter. The man who had imposed himself upon us 
as a brother of Twisted-hair also came and renewed his 
advances, but we now found that he was an impertinent, 
proud fellow, of no respectability in the nation, and we 
therefore felt no inclination to cultivate his intimacy. 
Our camp was in an open plain, and soon became very 
uncomfortable, for the wind was high and cold, and the 
rain and hail, which began about seven o'clock, changed 
in two hours to a heavy fall of snow, which continued till 
after six o'clock [May loth], the next morning, when it 
ceased, after covering the ground eight inches deep and 
leaving the air keen and cold. We soon collected our 



286 First Across the Continent 

horses, and after a scanty breakfast of roots set out on a 
course S. 35° E." 

They were now following the general course of the 
Kooskooskee, or Clearwater, as the stream is called, and 
their route lay in what is now Nez Perc6 County, Idaho. 
They have passed the site of the present city of Lewis- 
ton, named for Captain Lewis. They have arrived in a 
region inhabited by the friendly Chopunnish, or Nez 
Perce, several villages of which nation were scattered 
around the camp of the white men. The narrative says : 

"We soon collected the men of consideration, and after 
smoking, explained how destitute we were of provisions. 
The chief spoke to the people, who immediately brought 
two bushels of dried quamash-roots, some cakes of the 
roots of cows, and a dried salmon-trout; we thanked 
them for this supply, but observed that, not being accus- 
tomed to live on roots alone, we feared that such diet 
might make our men sick, and therefore proposed to 
exchange one of our good horses, which was rather poor, 
for one that was fatter, and which we might kill. The 
hospitality of the chief was offended at the idea of an 
exchange; he observed that his people had an abundance 
of young horses, and that if we were disposed to use that 
food we might have as many as we wanted. Accord- 
ingly, they soon gave us two fat young horses, without 
asking anything in return, an act of liberal hospitality 
much greater than any we have witnessed since crossing 
the Rocky Mountains, if it be not in fact the only really 
hospitable treatment we have received in this part of 
the world. We killed one of the horses, and then telling 
the natives that we were fatigued and hungry, and that as 
soon as we were refreshed we would communicate freely 
with them, began to prepare our repast. 



Overland east of the Columbia 287 

"During this time a principal chief, called Hohastill- 
pilp, came from his village, about six miles distant, with 
a party of fifty men, for the purpose of visiting us. We 
invited him into our circle, and he alighted and smoked 
with us, while his retinue, with five elegant horses, con- 
tinued mounted at a short distance. While this was 
going on, the chief had a large leathern tent spread for 
us, and desired that we would make it our home so long 
as we remained at his village. We removed there, and 
having made a fire, and cooked our supper of horseflesh 
and roots, collected all the distinguished men present, 
and spent the evening in making known who we were, 
what were the objects of our journey, and in answering 
their inquiries. To each of the chiefs Tunnachemootoolt 
and Hohastillpilp we gave a small medal, explaining 
their use and importance as honorary distinctions both 
among the whites and the red men. Our men were well 
pleased at once more having made a hearty meal. They 
had generally been in the habit of crowding into the 
houses of the Indians, to purchase provisions on the best 
terms they could; for the inhospitality of the country was 
such, that often, in the extreme of hunger, they were 
obliged to treat the natives with but little ceremony; but 
this Twisted Hair had told us was very disagreeable. 
Finding that these people are so kind and liberal, we 
ordered our men to treat them with the greatest respect, 
and not to throng round their fires, so that they now 
agree perfectly well together. After the council the 
Indians felt no disposition to retire, and our tent was 
filled with them all night." 

As the expedition was here in a populous country, 
among many bands of Indians, it was thought wise to 
have a powwow with the head men and explain to thera 



288 First Across the Continent 

what were the intentions of the United States Govern- 
ment. But, owing to the crooked course which their 
talk must needs take, it was very difficult to learn if the 
Indians finally understood what was said. Here is the 
journal's account of the way in which the powwow was 
conducted : — 

"We collected the chiefs and warriors, and having 
drawn a map of the relative situation of our country on a 
mat with a piece of coal, detailed the nature and power 
of the American nation, its desire to preserve harmony 
between all its red brethren, and its intention of estab- 
lishing trading-houses for their relief and support. It 
was not without difficulty, nor till after nearly half the 
day was spent, that we were able to convey all this infor- 
mation to the Chopunnish, much of which might have 
been lost or distorted in its circuitous route through a 
variety of languages ; for in the first place, we spoke in 
English to one of our men, who translated it into French 
to Chaboneau ; he interpreted it to his wife in the Minne- 
taree language; she then put it into Shoshonee, and the 
young Shoshonee prisoner explained it to the Chopunnish 
in their own dialect. At last we succeeded in communi- 
cating the impression we wished, and then adjourned the 
council ; after which we amused them by showing the 
wonders of the compass, spy-glass, magnet, watch, and 
air-gun, each of which attracted its share of admiration." 

The simple-minded Indians, who seemed to think that 
the white men could heal all manner of diseases, crowded 
around them next day, begging for medicines and treat- 
ment. These were freely given, eye-water being most in 
demand. There was a general medical powwow. The 
journal adds : — 

" Shortly after, the chiefs and warriors held a council 



Overland east of the Columbia 289 

among themselves, to decide on an answer to our speech, 
and the result was, as we were informed, that they had 
full confidence in what we had told them, and were 
resolved to follow our advice. This determination hav- 
ing been made, the principal chief, Tunnachemootoolt, 
took a quantity of flour of the roots of cow-weed [cowas], 
and going round to all the kettles and baskets in which 
his people were cooking, thickened the soup into a kind 
of mush. He then began an harangue, setting forth the 
result of the deliberations among the chiefs, and after 
exhorting them to unanimity, concluded with an invita- 
tion to all who acquiesced in the proceedings of the coun- 
cil to come and eat; while those who were of a different 
mind were requested to show their dissent by not partak- 
ing of the feast. During this animated harangue, the 
women, who were probably uneasy at the prospect of 
forming this proposed new connection with strangers, 
tore their hair, and wrung their hands with the greatest 
appearance of distress. But the concluding appeal of 
the orator effectually stopped the mouths of every male- 
content, and the proceedings were ratified, and the mush 
devoured with the most zealous unanimity. 

"The chiefs and warriors then came in a body to visit 
us as we were seated near our tent; and at their instance, 
two young men, one of whom was a son of Tunnache- 
mootoolt, and the other the youth whose father had been 
killed by the Pahkees, presented to us each a fine horse. 
We invited the chiefs to be seated, and gave every one 
of them a flag, a pound of powder, and fifty balls, and a 
present of the same kind to the young men from whom 
we had received the horses. They then invited us into 
the tent, and said that they now wished to answer what 
we had told them yesterday, but that many of their people 

19 



290 First Across the Continent 

were at that moment waiting in great pain for our medical 
assistance." 

It was agreed, therefore, that Captain Clark, who seems 
to have been their favorite physician, should attend to 
the sick and lame, while Captain Lewis should conduct 
a council with the chiefs and listen to what they had to 
say. The upshot of the powwow was that the Chopun- 
nish said they had sent three of their warriors with a 
pipe to make peace with the Shoshonees, last summer, as 
they had been advised to do by the white men. The 
Shoshonees, unmindful of the sacredness of this embassy, 
had killed the young warriors and had invited the battle 
which immediately took place, in which the Chopunnish 
killed forty-two of the Shoshonees, to get even for the 
wanton killing of their three young men. The white 
men now wanted some of the Chopunnish to accompany 
them to the plains of the Missouri, but the Indians were 
not willing to go until they were assured that they would 
not be waylaid and slain by their enemies of the other 
side of the mountains. The Chopunnish would think 
over the proposal that some of their young men should 
go over the range with the white men; a decision on this 
point should be reached before the white men left the 
country. Anyhow, the white men might be sure that 
the Indians would do their best to oblige their visitors. 
Their conclusion was, " For, although we are poor, our 
hearts are good." The story of this conference thus 
concludes : — 

"As soon as this speech was concluded. Captain Lewis 
replied at some length; with this they appeared highly 
gratified, and after smoking the pipe, made us a present 
of another fat horse for food. We, in turn, gave Broken- 
arm a phial of eye-water, with directions to wash the eyes 




Lewis in Indian Dress 



Overland east of the Columbia 291 

of all who should apply for it; and as we promised to fill 
it again when it was exhausted, he seemed very much 
pleased with our liberality. To Twisted-hair, who had 
last night collected six more horses, we gave a gun, one 
hundred balls, and two pounds of powder, and told him he 
should have the same quantity when we received the re- 
mainder of our horses. In the course of the day three 
more of them were brought in, and a fresh exchange of 
small presents put the Indians in excellent humor. On 
our expressing a wish to cross the river and form a camp, 
in order to hunt and fish till the snows had melted, they 
recommended a position a few miles distant, and prom- 
ised to furnish us to-morrow with a canoe to cross. We 
invited Twisted-hair to settle near our camp, for he has 
several young sons, one of whom we hope to engage as 
a guide, and he promised to do so. Having now settled 
all their affairs, the Indians divided themselves into two 
parties, and began to play the game of hiding a bone, 
already described as common to all the natives of this 
country, which they continued playing for beads and 
other ornaments." 

As there was so dismal a prospect for crossing the 
snow-covered mountains at this season of the year, the 
captains of the expedition resolved to establish a camp 
and remain until the season should be further advanced. 
Accordingly, a spot on the north side of the river, recom- 
mended to them by the Indians, was selected, and a move 
across the stream was made. A single canoe was bor- 
rowed for the transit of the baggage, and the horses were 
driven in to swim across, and the passage was accom- 
plished without loss. The camp was built on the site of 
an old Indian house, in a circle about thirty yards in 
diameter, near the river and in an advantageous position. 



292 First Across the Continent 

As soon as the party were encamped, the two Chopunnish 
chiefs came down to the opposite bank, and, with twelve 
of their nation, began to sing. This was the custom of 
these people, being a token of their friendship on such 
occasions. The captains sent a canoe over for the chiefs, 
and, after smoking for some time, Hohastillpilp presented 
Captain with a fine gray horse which he had brought over 
for that purpose, and he was perfectly satisfied to receive 
in return a handkerchief, two hundred balls, and four 
pounds of powder. 

Here is some curious information concerning the bears 
which they found in this region. It must be borne 
in mind that they were still west of the Bitter Root 
Mountains : — 

"The hunters killed some pheasants, two squirrels, and 
a male and a female bear, the first of which was large, 
fat, and of a bay color; the second meagre, grizzly, and 
of smaller size. They were of the species [^Ursus Jiorri- 
bilis] common to the upper part of the Missouri, and 
might well be termed the variegated bear, for they are 
found occasionally of a black, grizzly, brown, or red 
color. There is every reason to believe them to be of 
precisely the same species. Those of different colors 
are killed together, as in the case of these two, and as 
we found the white and bay associated together on the 
Missouri; and some nearly white were seen in this neigh- 
borhood by the hunters. Indeed, it is not common to 
find any two bears of the same color; and if the differ- 
ence in color were to constitute a distinction of species, 
the number would increase to almost twenty. Soon after- 
ward the hunters killed a female bear with two cubs. 
The mother was black, with a considerable intermixture 
of white hairs and a white spot on the breast. One of 



Overland east of the Columbia 



293 



the cubs was jet black, and the other of a light reddish- 
brown or bay color. The hair of these variegated bears 
is much finer, longer, and more abundant than that of the 
common black bear; but the most striking, differences 
between them are that the former are larger and have 
longer tusks, and longer as well as blunter talons; that 
they prey more on other animals; that they lie neither 
so long nor so closely in winter quarters ; and that they 
never climb a tree, however closely pressed by the 
hunters. These variegated bears, though specifically the 
same with those we met on the Missouri, are by no means 
so ferocious; probably because the scarcity of game and 
the habit of living on roots may have weaned them from 
the practices of attacking and devouring animals. Still, 
however, they are not so passive as the common black 
bear, which is also to be found here; for they have 
already fought with our hunters, though with less fury 
than those on the other side of the mountains. 

" A large part of the meat we gave to the Indians, to 
whom it was a real luxury, as they scarcely taste flesh 
once in a month. They immediately prepared a large 
fire of dried wood, on which was thrown a number of 
smooth stones from the river. As soon as the fire went 
down and the stones were heated, they were laid next to 
each other in a level position, and covered with a quan- 
tity of pine branches, on which were placed flitches of 
the meat, and then boughs and flesh alternately for 
several courses, leaving a thick layer of pine on the top. 
On this heap they then poured a small quantity of water, 
and covered the whole with earth to the depth of four 
inches. After remaining in this state for about three 
hours, the meat was taken off, and was really more tender 
than that which we had boiled or roasted, though the 



294 First Across the Continent 

strong flavor of the pine rendered it disagreeable to our 
palates. This repast gave them much satisfaction; for, 
though they sometimes kill the black bear, they attack 
very reluctantly the fierce variegated bear ; and never 
except when they can pursue him on horseback over the 
plains, and shoot him with arrows." 



Chapter XXII 
Camping with the Nez Perces 

SOON after they had fixed their camp, the explorers 
bade farewell to their good friend Tunnachemoo- 
toolt and his young men, who returned to their homes 
farther down the river. Others of the Nez Perc6, or Cho- 
punnish, nation visited them, and the strangers were inter- 
ested in watching the Indians preparing for their hunt. 
As they were to hunt the deer, they had the head, horns, 
and hide of that animal so prepared that when it was 
placed on the head and body of a hunter, it gave a very 
deceptive idea of a deer; the hunter could move the head 
of the decoy so that it looked like a deer feeding, and the 
suspicious animals were lured within range of the Indians' 
bow and arrow. 

On the sixteenth of May, Hohastillpilp and his young 
men also left the white men's camp and returned to their 
own village. The hunters of the party did not meet with 
much luck in their quest for game, only one deer and a few 
pheasants being brought in for several days. The party 
were fed on roots and herbs, a species of onion being 
much prized by them. Bad weather confined them to 
their camp, and a common entry in their journal re- 
fers to their having slept all night in a pool of water 
formed by the falling rain ; their tent-cover was a worn- 
out leathern affair no longer capable of shedding the rain. 
While it rained in the meadows where they were camped, 



296 First Across the Continent 

they could see the snow covering the higher plains above 
them ; on those plains the snow was more than a foot 
deep, and yet the plants and shrubs seemed to thrive in 
the midst of the snow. On the mountains the snow was 
several feet in depth. The journalist says : " So that 
within twenty miles of our camp we observe the rigors of 
winter cold, the cool air of spring, and the oppressive heat 
of midsummer." They kept a shrewd lookout for the pos- 
sibilities of future occupation of the land by white men ; 
and, writing here of country and its character, the journal- 
ist says: "In short, this district affords many advantages 
to settlers, and if properly cultivated, would yield every 
object necessary for the comfort and subsistence of civilized 
man." But in their wildest dreams. Captains Lewis and 
Clark could not have foreseen that in that identical region 
thrifty settlements of white men should flourish and that 
the time would come when the scanty remnant of the 
Chopunnish, whom we now call Nez Percys, would be 
gathered on a reservation near their camping-place. But 
both of these things have come to pass. 

In describing the dress of the Chopunnish, or Nez 
Perces, the journal says that tippets, or collars, were worn 
by the men. " That of Hohastillpilp," says the journal, 
" was formed of human scalps and adorned with the 
thumbs and fingers of several men slain by him in battle." 
And yet the journal immediately adds : " The Chopun- 
nish are among the most amiable men we have seen. 
Their character is placid and gentle, rarely moved to pas- 
sion, yet not often enlivened by gayety." In short, the 
Indians were amiable savages ; and it is a savage trait to 
love to destroy one's enemies. 

Here is an entry in the journal of May 19 which will 
give the reader some notion of the privations and the pur- 



Camping with the Nez Perces 297 

suits of the party while shut up in camp for weary weeks 
in the early summer of 1806: — 

" After a cold, rainy night, during a greater part of 
which we lay in the water, the weather became fair; we 
then sent some men to a village above us, on the opposite 
side, to purchase some roots. They carried with them for 
this purpose a small collection of awls, knitting-pins, and 
armbands, with which they obtained several bushels of the 
root of cows, and some bread of the same material. They 
were followed, too, by a train of invalids from the village, 
who came to ask for our assistance. The men were gener- 
ally afflicted with sore eyes ; but the women had besides 
this a variety of other disorders, chiefly rheumatic, a vio- 
lent pain and weakness in the loins, which is a common 
complaint among them ; one of them seemed much de- 
jected, and as we thought, from the account of her dis- 
ease, hysterical. We gave her thirty drops of laudanum, 
and after administering eye-water, rubbing the rheumatic 
patients with volatile liniment, and giving cathartics to 
others, they all thought themselves much relieved and 
returned highly satisfied to the village. We were fortu- 
nate enough to retake one of the horses on which w^e 
[Captain Lewis] had crossed the Rocky Mountains in the 
autumn, and which had become almost wild since that 
time." 

A day or two later, the journal has this significant 
entry: "On parcelling out the stores, the stock of each 
man was found to be only one awl, and one knitting-pin, 
half an ounce of vermilion, two needles, a few skeins of 
thread, and about a yard of ribbon — a slender means of 
bartering for our subsistence ; but the men have been so 
much accustomed to privations that now neither the want 
of meat nor the scanty funds of the party excites the least 



298 First Across the Continent 

anxiety among them." To add to their discomfort, there 
was a great deal of sickness in the camp, owing to the low 
diet of the men. Sacajawea's baby was ill with mumps 
and teething, and it is suggested that the two captains 
would have been obliged to " walk the floor all night," if 
there had been any floor to walk on ; as it was, they were 
deprived of their nightly rest. Here is an example of what 
the doctors would call heroic treatment by Captain Clark, 
who conducted all such experiments : — 

" With one of the men [Bratton] we have ventured an 
experiment of a very robust nature. He has been for 
some time sick, but has now recovered his flesh, eats 
heartily, and digests well, but has so great a weakness in 
the loins that he cannot walk or even sit upright without 
extreme pain. After we had in vain exhausted the re- 
sources of our art, one of the hunters mentioned that he 
had known persons in similar situations to be restored by 
violent sweats, and at the request of the patient, we per- 
mitted the remedy to be apphed. For this purpose a 
hole about four feet deep and three in diameter was dug in 
the earth, and heated well by a large fire in the bottom of 
it. The fire was then taken out, and an arch formed over 
the hole by means of willow-poles, and covered with 
several blankets so as to make a perfect awning. The 
patient being stripped naked, was seated under this on a 
bench, with a piece of board for his feet, and with a jug 
of water sprinkled the bottom and sides of the hole, so as 
to keep up as hot a steam as he could bear. After re- 
maining twenty minutes in this situation, he was taken out, 
immediately plunged twice in cold water, and brought back 
to the hole, where he resumed the vapor bath. During all 
this time he drank copiously a strong infusion of horse- 
mint, which was used as a substitute for seneca-root, which 



Camping with the Nez Perces 299 

our informant said he had seen employed on these occa- 
sions, but of which there is none in this country. At the 
end of three-quarters of an hour he was again withdrawn 
from the hole, carefully wrapped, and suffered to cool 
gradually. This operation was performed yesterday; this 
morning he walked about and is nearly free from pain. 
About eleven o'clock a canoe arrived with three Indians, 
one of whom was the poor creature who had lost the use 
of his limbs, and for whose recovery the natives seem very 
anxious, as he is a chief of considerable rank among them. 
His situation is beyond the reach of our skill. He com- 
plains of no pain in any peculiar limb, and we therefore 
think his disorder cannot be rheumatic, and his limbs would 
have been more diminished if his disease had been a para- 
lytic affection. We had already ascribed it to his diet of 
roots, and had recommended his living on fish and flesh, 
and using the cold bath every morning, with a dose of 
cream of tartar or flowers of sulphur every third day." 

It is gratifying to be able to record the fact that Bratton 
and the Indian (who was treated in the same manner) act- 
ually recovered from their malady. The journal says of 
the Indian that his restoration was " wonderful." This is 
not too strong a word to use under the circumstances, for 
the chief had been helpless for nearly three years, and yet 
he was able to get about and take care of himself after he 
had been treated by Captain (otherwise Doctor) Clark. 
Two of his men met with a serious disaster about this 
time ; going across the river to trade with some Indians, 
their boat was stove and went to the bottom, carrying with 
it three blankets, a blanket-coat, and their scanty stock of 
merchandise, all of which was utterly lost. Another dis- 
aster, which happened next day, is thus recorded : — 

" Two of our men, who had been up the river to trade 



300 First Across the Continent 

with the Indians, returned quite unsuccessful. Nearly 
opposite the village, their horse fell with his load down 
a steep cliff into the river, across which he swam. An 
Indian on the opposite side drove him back to them ; but 
in crossing most of the articles were lost and the paint 
melted. Understanding their intentions, the Indians at- 
tempted to come over to them, but having no canoe, were 
obliged to use a raft, which struck on a rock, upset, and 
the whole store of roots and bread were destroyed. This 
failure completely exhausted our stock of merchandise ; 
but the remembrance of what we suffered from cold and 
hunger during the passage of the Rocky Mountains makes 
us anxious to increase our means of subsistence and 
comfort, since we have again to encounter the same 
inconvenience." 

But the ingenuity of the explorers was equal to this 
emergency. Having observed that the Indians were very 
fond of brass buttons, which they fastened to their gar- 
ments as ornaments, and not for the useful purpose for 
which buttons are made, the men now proceeded to cut 
from their shabby United States uniforms those desired 
articles, and thus formed a new fund for trading purposes. 
To these they added some eye-water, some basilicon, and a 
few small tin boxes in which phosphorus had been kept. 
Basilicon, of which mention is frequently made in the 
journal, was an ointment composed of black pitch, white 
wax, resin, and olive oil ; it was esteemed as a sovereign 
remedy for all diseases requiring an outward application. 
With these valuables two men were sent out to trade with 
the Indians, on the second day of June, and they returned 
with three bushels of eatable roots and some cowas bread. 
Later in that day, a party that had been sent down the river 
(Lewis') in quest of food, returned with a goodly supply 




BUFFALOKS AT DrIXKING-PlACE 



Camping with the Nez Perces 301 

of roots and seventeen salmon. These fish, although partly 
spoiled by the long journey home, gave great satisfaction 
to the hungry adventurers, for they were the promise of a 
plenty to come when the salmon should ascend the rivers 
that make into the Columbia. At this time we find 
the following interesting story in the journal of the 
expedition : — 

"We had lately heard, also, that some Indians, residing 
at a considerable distance, on the south side of the Koos- 
kooskee, were in possession of two tomahawks, one of 
which had been left at our camp on Moscheto Creek, and 
the other had been stolen while we were with the Chopun- 
nish in the autumn. This last we were anxious to obtain, 
in order to give it to the relations of our unfortunate 
companion, Sergeant Floyd,^ to whom it once belonged. 
We therefore sent Drewyer, with the two chiefs Neeshne- 
pahkeeook and Hohastillpilp (who had returned to us) to 
demand it. On their arrival, they found that the present 
possessor of it, who had purchased it of the thief, was at 
the point of death ; and his relations were unwilling to 
give it up, as they wished to bury it in the grave with the 
deceased. The influence of Neeshnepahkeeook, however, 
at length prevailed ; and they consented to surrender the 
tomahawk on receiving two strands of beads and a hand- 
kerchief from Drewyer, and from each of the chiefs a 
horse, to be killed at the funeral of their kinsman, accord- 
ing to the custom of the country." 

The Chopunnish chiefs now gave their final answer to 
the two captains who had requested guides from them. 
The chiefs said that they could not accompany the party, 
but later in the summer they might cross the great divide 
and spend the next winter on the headwaters of the 

^ Died near Council Bluffs, on the Missouri, September, 1804. 



302 First Across the Continent 

Missouri. At present, they could only promise that some 
of their young men should go with the whites ; these had 
not been selected, but they would be sent on after the 
party, if the two captains insisted on starting now. This 
was not very encouraging, for they had depended upon 
the Indians for guidance over the exceedingly difficult and 
even dangerous passages of the mountains. Accordingly, 
it was resolved that, while waiting on the motions of the 
Indians, the party might as well make a visit to Quamash 
flats, where they could lay in a stock of provisions for 
their arduous journey. It is not certain which of the 
several Quamash flats mentioned in the history of the 
expedition is here referred to; but it is likely that the 
open glade in which Captain Clark first struck the low 
country of the west is here meant. It was here that he 
met the Indian boys hiding in the grass, and from here he 
led the expedition out of the wilderness. For " quamash" 
read " camass," an edible root much prized by the Nez 
Perces then and now. 

While they lingered at their camp, they were visited by 
several bands of friendly Indians. The explorers traded 
horses with their visitors, and, with what they already had, 
they now found their band to number sixty-five, all told. 
Having finished their trading, they invited the Indians to 
take part in the games of prisoners' base and foot-racing; 
in the latter game the Indians were very expert, being able 
to distance the fleetest runner of the white men's party. 
At night, the games were concluded by a dance. The 
account of the expedition says that the captains were 
desirous of encouraging these exercises before they should 
begin the passage over the mountains, " as several of the 
men are becoming lazy from inaction." 

On the tenth of June the party set out for Quamash 



Camping with the Nez Perces 303 

flats, each man well mounted and leading a spare horse 
which carried a small load. To their dismay, they found 
that their good friends, the Chopunnish, unwilling to part 
with them, were bound to accompany them to the hunting- 
grounds. The Indians would naturally expect to share in 
the hunt and to be provided for by the white men. The 
party halted there only until the sixth of June, and then, 
collecting their horses, set out through what proved to be 
a very difficult trail up the creek on which they were 
camped, in a northeasterly direction. There was still a 
quantity of snow on the ground, although this was in shady 
places and hollows. Vegetation was rank, and the dog- 
tooth violet, honeysuckle, blue-bell, and columbine were 
in blossom. The pale blue flowers of the quamash gave to 
the level country the appearance of a blue lake. Striking 
Hungry Creek, which Captain Clark had very appropri- 
ately named when he passed that way, the previous Sep- 
tember, they followed it up to a mountain for about three 
miles, when they found themselves enveloped in snow ; 
their limbs were benumbed, and the snow, from twelve 
to fifteen feet deep, so paralyzed their feet that further 
progress was impossible. Here the journal should be 
quoted : — 

" We halted at the sight of this new difflculty. We 
already knew that to wait till the snows of the mountains 
had dissolved, so as to enable us to distinguish the road, 
would defeat our design of returning to the United States 
this season. We now found also that as the snow bore 
our horses very well, travelling was infinitely easier than it 
was last fall, when the rocks and fallen timber had so 
much obstructed our march. But it would require five 
days to reach the fish-weirs at the mouth of Colt [-killed] 
Creek, even if we were able to follow the proper ridges of 



304 First Across the Continent 

the mountains ; and the danger of missing our direction is 
exceedingly great while every track is covered with snow. 
During these five days, too, we have no chance of finding 
either grass or underwood for our horses, the snow being 
so deep. To proceed, therefore, under such circumstances, 
would be to hazard our being bewildered in the mountains, 
and to insure the loss of our horses ; even should we be 
so fortunate as to escape with our lives, we might be 
obliged to abandon all our papers and collections. It was 
therefore decided not to venture any further ; to deposit 
here all the baggage and provisions for which we had no 
immediate use; and, reserving only subsistence for a few 
days, to return while our horses were yet strong to some 
spot where we might live by hunting, till a guide could be 
procured to conduct us across the mountains. Our bag- 
gage was placed on scaffolds and carefully covered, as 
were also the instruments and papers, which we thought it 
safer to leave than to risk over the roads and creeks by 
which we came." 

There was nothing left to do but to return to Hungry 
Creek. Finding a scanty supply of grass, they camped 
under most depressing circumstances ; their outlook now 
was the passing of four or five days in the midst of snows 
from ten to fifteen feet deep, with no guide, no road, and 
no forage. In this emergency, two men were sent back 
to the Chopunnish country to hurry up the Indians who 
had promised to accompany them over the mountains ; and, 
to insure a guide, these men were authorized to offer a 
rifle as a reward for any one who would undertake the task. 
For the present, it was thought best to return to Quamash 
flats. 



Chapter XXIII 
Crossing the Bitter Root Mountains 

DISASTERS many kept pace with the unhappy ex- 
plorers on their way back to Quamash flats after 
their rebuff at the base of the Bitter Root Mountains. 
One of the horses fell down a rough and rocky place, 
carrying his rider with him ; but fortunately neither horse 
nor man was killed. Next, a man, sent ahead to cut down 
the brush that blocked the path, cut himself badly on the 
inside of his thigh and bled copiously. The hunters sent 
out for game returned empty-handed. The fishermen 
caught no fish, but broke the two Indian gigs, or contriv- 
ances for catching fish, with which they had been pro- 
vided. The stock of salt had given out, the bulk of their 
supply having been left on the mountain. Several large 
mushrooms were brought in by Cruzatte, but these were 
eaten without pepper, salt, or any kind of grease, — "a 
very tasteless, insipid food," as the journal says. To crown 
all, the mosquitoes were pestilential in their numbers and 
venom. 

Nevertheless, the leaders of the expedition were deter- 
mined to press on and pass the Bitter Root Mountains as 
soon as a slight rest at Quamash flats should be had. If 
they should tarry until the snows melted from the trail, 
they would be too late to reach the United States that 
winter and would be compelled to pass the next winter at 



306 First Across the Continent 

some camp high up on the Missouri, as they had passed 
one winter at Fort Mandan, on their way out. This is 
the course of argument which Captain Lewis and Clark 
took to persuade each other as to the best way out of 
their difficulties: — 

" The snows have formed a hard, coarse bed without 
crust, on which the horses walk safely without slipping; 
the chief difficulty, therefore, is to find the road. In this 
we may be assisted by the circumstance that, though gen- 
erally ten feet in depth, the snow has been thrown off by 
the thick and spreading branches of the trees, and from 
round the trunk ; while the warmth of the trunk itself, 
acquired by the reflection of the sun, or communicated by 
natural heat of the earth, which is never frozen under these 
masses, has dissolved the snow so much that immediately 
at the roots its depth is not more than one or two feet. 
We therefore hope that the marks of the baggage rubbing 
against the trees may still be perceived ; and we have de- 
cided, in case the guide cannot be procured, that one of us 
will take three or four of our most expert woodsmen, sev- 
eral of our best horses, and an ample supply of provisions, 
go on two days' journey in advance, and endeavor to trace 
the route by the marks of the Indian baggage on the trees, 
which we would then mark more distinctly with a toma- 
hawk. When they should have reached two days' journey 
beyond Hungry Creek, two of the men were to be sent back 
to apprise the rest of their success, and if necessary to 
cause them to delay there ; lest, by advancing too soon, 
they should be forced to halt where no food could be ob- 
tained for the horses. If the traces of the baggage be too 
indistinct, the whole party is to return to Hungry Creek, 
and we will then attempt the passage by ascending the 
main southwest branch of Lewis' River through the country 



Crossing the Bitter Root Mountains 307 

of the Shoshonees, over to Madison or Gallatin River. On 
that route, the Chopunnish inform us, there is a passage 
not obstructed by snow at this period of the year." 

On their return to Quamash flats the party met two 
Indians who, after some parley, agreed to pilot them over 
the mountains ; these camped where they were, and the 
party went on to the flats, having exacted a promise from 
the Indians that they would wait there two nights for the 
white men to come along. When the party reached their 
old camp, they found that one of their hunters had killed a 
deer, which was a welcome addition to their otherwise 
scanty supper. Next day, the hunters met with astonish- 
ing luck, bringing into camp eight deer and three bears. 
Four of the men were directed to go to the camp of the 
two Indians, and if these were bent on going on, to accom- 
pany them and so mark, or blaze, the trees that the rest 
of the party would have no difficulty in finding the way, 
later on. 

Meanwhile, the men who had been sent back for guides 
returned, bringing with them the pleasing information that 
three Indians whom they brought with them had consented 
to guide the party to the great falls of the Missouri, for 
the pay of two guns. Accordingly, once more (June 26), 
they set out for the mountains, travelling for the third time 
in twelve days the route between Quamash flats and the 
Bitter Root range. For the second time they ran up 
against a barrier of snow. They measured the depth 
of the snow at the place where they had left their luggage 
at their previous repulse and found it to be ten feet and 
ten inches deep ; and it had sunk four feet since they had 
been turned back at this point. Pressing on, after they 
reached their old camp, they found a bare spot on the side 
of the mountain where there was a little grass for their 



308 First Across the Continent 

horses; and there they camped for the night. They 
were fortunate in having Indian guides with them ; and 
the journal says : — 

" The marks on the trees, which had been our chief 
dependence, are much fewer and more difficult to be 
distinguished than we had supposed. But our guides 
traverse this trackless region with a kind of instinctive 
sagacity ; they never hesitate, they are never embarrassed ; 
and so undeviating is their step, that wherever the snow 
has disappeared, for even a hundred paces, we find the 
summer road. With their aid the snow is scarcely a dis- 
advantage ; for though we are often obliged to slip down, 
yet the fallen timber and the rocks, which are now cov- 
ered, were much more troublesome when we passed in the 
autumn. Travelling is indeed comparatively pleasant, as 
well as more rapid, the snow being hard and coarse, with- 
out a crust, and perfectly hard enough to prevent the 
horses sinking more than two or three inches. After the 
sun has been on it for some hours it becomes softer than it 
is early in the morning; yet they are almost always able to 
get a sure foothold." 

On the twenty-ninth of June the party were well out of 
the snows in which they had been imprisoned, although 
they were by no means over the mountain barrier that had 
been climbed so painfully during the past few days. Here 
they observed the tracks of two barefooted Indians who 
had evidently been fleeing from their enemies, the Pah- 
kees. These signs disturbed the Indian guides, for they 
at once said that the tracks were made by their friends, 
the Ootlashoots, and that the Pahkees would also cut 
them (the guides) off on their return from the trip over 
the mountains. On the evening of the day above men- 
tioned, the party camped at the warm springs which fall 



Crossing the Bitter Root Mountains 309 

into Traveller's-rest Creek, a point now well known to 
the explorers, who had passed that way before. Of the 
springs the journal says : — 

" These warm springs are situated at the foot of a hill 
on the north side of Traveller's-rest Creek; which is ten 
yards wide at this place. They issue from the bottoms, 
and through the interstices of a gray freestone rock, which 
rises in irregular masses round their lower side. The 
principal spring, which the Indians have formed into a 
bath by stopping the run with stone and pebbles, is about 
the same temperature as the warmest bath used at the hot 
springs in Virginia. On trying, Captain Lewis could with 
difficulty remain in it nineteen minutes, and then was 
affected with a profuse perspiration. The two other springs 
are much hotter, the temperature being equal to that of the 
warmest of the hot springs in Virginia. Our men, as well 
as the Indians, amused themselves with going into the 
bath; the latter, according to their universal custom, 
going first into the hot bath, where they remain as long as 
they can bear the heat, then plunging into the creek, 
which is now of an icy coldness, and repeating this 
operation several times, but always ending with the warm 
bath." 

Traveller's-rest Creek, it will be recollected, is on the 
summit of the Bitter Root Mountains, and the expedition 
had consequently passed from Idaho into Montana, as 
these States now exist on the map ; but they were still 
on the Pacific side of the Great Divide, or the backbone 
of the continent. Much game was seen in this region, 
and after reaching Traveller's-rest Creek, the hunters killed 
six deer; great numbers of elk and bighorn were also seen 
in this vicinity. On the thirtieth of July the party were at 
their old camp of September 9 and lo, 1805, having made 



3IO First Across the Continent 

one hundred and fifty-six miles from Quamash flats to the 
mouth of the creek where they now camped. Here a 
plan to divide and subdivide the party was made out as 
follows : — 

" Captain Lewis, with nine men, is to pursue the most 
direct route to the falls of the Missouri, where three of his 
party [Thompson, Goodrich, and McNeal] are to be left 
to prepare carriages for transporting the baggage and 
canoes across the portage. With the remaining six, he 
will ascend Maria's River to explore the country and 
ascertain whether any branch of it reaches as far north as 
latitude 50°, after which he will descend that river to its 
mouth. The rest of the men will accompany Captain 
Clark to the head of Jefferson River, which Sergeant Ord- 
way and a party of nine men will descend, with the canoes 
and other articles deposited there. Captain Clark's party, 
which will then be reduced to ten men and Sacajawea, will 
proceed to the Yellowstone, at its nearest approach to the 
Three Forks of the Missouri. There he will build canoes, 
go down that river with seven of his party, and wait at its 
mouth till the rest of the party join him. Sergeant Pryor, 
with two others, will then take the horses by land to the 
Mandans. From that nation he will go to the British 
posts on the Assiniboin with a letter to Mr. Alexander 
Henry, to procure his endeavors to prevail on some of 
the Sioux chiefs to accompany him to the city of Wash- 
ington. 

" The Indians who had accompanied us intended leav- 
ing us in order to seek their friends, the Ootlashoots; but 
we prevailed on them to accompany Captain Lewis a part 
of his route, so as to show him the shortest road to the 
Missouri, and in the mean time amused them with conver- 



Crossing the Bitter Root Mountains 311 

sation and running races, on foot and with horses, in both 
of which they proved themselves hardy, athletic, and 
active. To the chief Captain Lewis gave a small medal 
and a gun, as a reward for having guided us across the 
mountains ; in return the customary civilit-y of exchanging 
names passed between them, by which the former ac- 
quired the title of Yomekollick, or White Bearskin Un- 
folded." 



Chapter XXIV 

The Expedition Subdivided 

ON the third of July, accordingly, Captain Lewis, 
with nine of his men and five Indians, proceeded 
down the valley lying between the Rocky and the Bitter 
Root ranges of mountains, his general course being due 
northwest of Clark's fork of the Columbia River, Cross- 
ing several small streams that make into this river, they 
finally reached and crossed the Missoula River from west 
to east, below the confluence of the St. Mary's and Hell- 
gate rivers, or creeks; for these streams hardly deserve 
the name of rivers. The party camped for the night 
within a few miles of the site of the present city of 
Missoula, Montana. Here they were forced to part from 
their good friends and allies, the Indians, who had 
crossed the range with them. These men were afraid 
that they would be cut off by their foes, the Pahkees, 
and they wanted to find and join some band of the Indian 
nation with whom they were on terms of friendship. The 
journal gives this account of the parting: — 

"We now smoked a farewell pipe with our estimable 
companions, who expressed every emotion of regret at 
parting with us; which they felt the more, because they 
did not conceal their fears of our being cut off by the 
Pahkees. We also gave them a shirt, a handkerchief, 
and a small quantity of ammunition. The meat which 
they received from us was dried and left at this place, 



The Expedition Subdivided 313 

as a store during the homeward journey. This circum- 
stance confirms our belief that there is no route along 
Clark's River to the Columbian plains so near or so good 
as that by which we came; for, though these people mean 
to go for several days' journey down that river, to look for 
the Shalees [Ootlashoots], yet they intend returning home 
by the same pass of the mountains through which they 
have conducted us. This route is also used by all the 
nations whom we know west of the mountains who are in 
the habit of visiting the plains of the Missouri; while 
on the other side, all the war-paths of the Pahkees 
which fall into this valley of Clark's River concentre at 
Traveller's-rest, beyond which these people have never 
ventured to the west." 

During the next day or two, Captain Lewis kept on 
the same general course through a well-watered country, 
the ground gradually rising as he approached the base 
of the mountains. Tracks of Indians, supposed to be 
Pahkees, became more numerous and fresh. On the 
seventh of July, the little company went through the 
famous pass of the Rocky Mountains, now properly named 
for the leaders of the expedition. Here is the journal's 
account of their finding the Lewis and Clark Pass: — 

"At the distance of twelve miles we left the river, or 
rather the creek, and having for four miles crossed two 
ridges in a direction north fifteen degrees east, again 
struck to the right, proceeding through a narrow bottom 
covered with low willows and grass, and abundantly sup- 
plied with both deer and beaver. After travelling seven 
miles we reached the foot of a ridge, which we ascended 
in a direction north forty-five degrees east, through a low 
gap of easy ascent from the westward; and, on descending 
it, were delighted at discovering that this was the dividing 



3 1 4 First Across the Continent 

ridge between the waters of the Columbia and those of the 
Missouri. From this gap Fort Mountain is about twenty 
miles in a northeastern direction. We now wound 
through the hills and mountains, passing several rivulets 
which ran to the right, and at the distance of nine miles 
from the gap encamped, having made thirty-two miles. 
We procured some beaver, and this morning saw tracks of 
buffalo, from which it appears that those animals do some- 
times penetrate a short distance among the mountains." 

Next day the party found themselves in clover, so to 
speak. Game was plenty, and, as their object now was 
to accumulate meat for the three men who were to be left 
at the falls (and who were not hunters), they resolved to 
strike the Medicine, or Sun, River and hunt down its 
banks. On that river the journal, July lo, has this to 
say: — 

" In the plains are great quantities of two species of 
prickly-pear now in bloom. Gooseberries of the common 
red kind are in abundance and just beginning to ripen, but 
there are no currants. The river has now widened to one 
hundred yards; it is deep, crowded with islands, and in 
many parts rapid. At the distance of seventeen miles, the 
timber disappears totally from the river-bottoms. About 
this part of the river, the wind, which had blown on our 
backs, and constantly put the elk on their guard, shifted 
round ; we then shot three of them and a brown bear. 
Captain Lewis halted to skin them, while two of the men 
took the pack-horses forward to seek for a camp. It was 
nine o'clock before he overtook them, at the distance of 
seven miles, in the first grove of cottonwood. They had 
been pursued as they came along by a very large bear, 
on which they were afraid to fire, lest their horses, being 
unaccustomed to the gun, might take fright and throw 



The Expedition Subdivided 3 1 5 

them. This circumstance reminds us of the ferocity of 
these animals, when we were last near this place, and 
admonishes us to be very cautious. We saw vast num- 
bers of buffalo below us, which kept up a dreadful bellow- 
ing during the night. With all our exertions we were 
unable to advance more than twenty-four miles, owing 
to the mire through which we are obliged to travel, in 
consequence of the rain. " 

The Sun, or Medicine, River empties into the Mis- 
souri just above the great falls of that stream ; and near 
here, opposite White Bear Islands, the expedition had 
deposited some of their property in a cache dug near the 
river bank, when they passed that way, a year before. 
On the thirteenth of the month, having reached their old 
camping-ground here, the party set to work making boat- 
gear and preparing to leave their comrades in camp well 
fixed for their stay. The journal adds : — 

" On opening the cache, we found the bearskins entirely 
destroyed by the water, which in a flood of the river had 
penetrated to them. All the specimens of plants, too, 
were unfortunately lost : the chart of the Missouri, how- 
ever, still remained unhurt, and several articles contained 
in trunks and boxes had suffered but little injury; but a 
vial of laudanum had lost its stopper, and the liquid had 
run into a drawer of medicines, which it spoiled beyond 
recovery. The mosquitoes were so troublesome that it 
was impossible even to write without a mosquito bier. 
The buffalo were leaving us fast, on their way to the 
southeast." 

One of the party met with an amusing adventure here, 
which is thus described : — 

"At night M'Neal, who had been sent in the morning 
to examine the cache at the lower end of the portage, 



3i6 



First Across the Continent 



returned; but had been prevented from reaching that 
place by a singular adventure. Just as he arrived near 
Willow run, he approached a thicket of brush in which 
was a white bear, which he did not discover till he was 
within ten feet of him. His horse started, and wheeling 
suddenly round, threw M'Neal almost immediately under 
the bear, which started up instantly. Finding the bear 
raising himself on his hind feet to attack him, he struck 
him on the head with the butt end of his musket; the 
blow was so violent that it broke the breech of the 
musket and knocked the bear to the ground. Before he 
recovered, M'Neal, seeing a willow-tree close by, sprang 
up, and there remained while the bear closely guarded 
the foot of the tree until late in the afternoon. He then 
went off; M'Neal being released came down, and having 
found his horse, which had strayed off to the distance of 
two miles, returned to camp. These animals are, indeed, 
of a most extraordinary ferocity, and it is matter of 
wonder that in all our encounters we have had the good 
fortune to escape. We are now troubled with another 
enemy, not quite so dangerous, though even more dis- 
agreeable: these are the mosquitoes, who now infest us 
in such myriads that we frequently get them into our 
throats when breathing, and the dog even howls with the 
torture they occasion." 

The intention of Captain Lewis was to reach the river 
sometimes known as Maria's, and sometimes as Marais, 
or swamp. This stream rises near the boundary between 
Montana and the British possessions, and flows into the 
Missouri, where the modern town of Ophir is built. 
The men left at the great falls were to dig up the canoes 
and baggage that had been cached there the previous 
year, and be ready to carry around the portage of the 



The Expedition Subdivided 3 1 7 

falls the stuff that would be brought from the two forks 
of the Jefferson, later on, by Sergeant Ordway and his 
party. It will be recollected that this stuff had also been 
cached at the forks of the Jefferson, the year before. The 
two parties, thus united, were to go down to the entrance 
of Maria's River into the Missouri, and Captain Lewis 
expected to join them there by the fifth of August ; if 
he failed to meet them by that time, they were to go on 
down the river and meet Captain Clark at the mouth 
of the Yellowstone. This explanation is needed to the 
proper understanding of the narrative that follows; for 
we now have to keep track of three parties of the 
explorers. 

Captain Lewis and his men, having travelled northwest 
about twenty miles from the great falls of the Missouri, 
struck the trail of a wounded buffalo. They were dis- 
mayed by the sight, for that assured them that there 
were Indians in the vicinity; and the most natural thing 
to expect was that these were Blackfeet, or Minnetarees; 
both of these tribes are vicious and rascally people, and 
they would not hesitate to attack a small party and rob 
them of their guns, if they thought themselves able to 
get away with them. 

They were now in the midst of vast herds of buffalo, so 
numerous that the whole number seemed one immense 
herd. Hanging on the flanks were many wolves ; hares 
and antelope were also abundant. On the fourth day out, 
Captain Lewis struck the north fork of Maria's River, 
now known as Cut-bank River, in the northwest corner of 
Montana. He was desirous of following up the stream, 
to ascertain, if possible, whether its fountain-head was 
below, or above, the boundary between the United States 
and the British possessions. Bad weather and an acci- 



31 8 First Across the Continent 

dent to his chronometer prevented his accomplishing his 
purpose, and, on the twenty-sixth of July, he turned 
reluctantly back, giving the name of Cape Disappoint- 
ment to his last camping-place. Later in that day, as 
they were travelling down the main stream (Maria's 
River), they encountered the Indians whom they had 
hoped to avoid. Let us read the story as it is told in 
the journal of the party : — 

" At the distance of three miles we ascended the hills 
close to the river-side, while Drewyer pursued the valley 
of the river on the opposite side. But scarcely had 
Captain Lewis reached the high plain when he saw, about 
a mile on his left, a collection of about thirty horses. 
He immediately halted, and by the aid of his spy-glass 
discovered that one-half of the horses were saddled, and 
that on the eminence above the horses several Indians 
were looking down toward the river, probably at Drewyer. 
This was a most unwelcome sight. Their probable num- 
bers rendered any contest with them of doubtful issue; 
to attempt to escape would only invite pursuit, and our 
horses were so bad that we must certainly be overtaken; 
besides which, Drewyer could not yet be aware that the 
Indians were near, and if we ran he would most probably 
be sacrificed. We therefore determined to make the most 
of our situation, and advance toward them in a friendly 
manner. The flag which we had brought in case of any 
such accident was therefore displayed, and we continued 
slowly our march toward them. Their whole attention 
was so engaged by Drewyer that they did not imme- 
diately discover us. As soon as they did see us, they 
appeared to be much alarmed and ran about in confusion ; 
some of them came down the hill and drove their horses 
within gunshot of the eminence, to which they then re- 




m 



The Expedition Subdivided 319 

turned, as if to await our arrival. When we came within 
a quarter of a mile, one of the Indians mounted and rode 
at full speed to receive us; but when within a hundred 
paces of us, he halted. Captain Lewis, who had alighted 
to receive him, held out his hand and beckoned to him to 
approach ; he only looked at us for some time, and then, 
without saying a word, returned to his companions with 
as much haste as he had advanced. The whole party 
now descended the hill and rode toward us. As yet we 
saw only eight, but presumed that there must be more 
behind us, as there were several horses saddled. We 
however advanced, and Captain Lewis now told his two 
men that he believed these were the Minnetarees of Fort 
de Prairie, who, from their infamous character, would in 
all probability attempt to rob us; but being determined 
to die rather than lose his papers and instruments, he 
intended to resist to the last extremity, and advised them 
to do the same, and to be on the alert should there be 
any disposition to attack us. When the two parties 
came within a hundred yards of each other, all the 
Indians, except one, halted. Captain Lewis therefore 
ordered his two men to halt while he advanced, and after 
shaking hands with the Indian, went on and did the 
same with the others in the rear, while the Indian him- 
self shook hands with the two men. They all now came 
up; and after alighting, the Indians asked to smoke with 
us. Captain Lewis, who was very anxious for Drewyer's 
safety, told them that the man who had gone down the 
river had the pipe, and requested that as they had seen 
him, one of them would accompany R. Fields, to bring 
him back. To this they assented, and Fields went with 
a young man in search of Drewyer. " 

Captain Lewis now asked them by signs if they were 



320 First Across the Continent 

Minnetarees of the north, and he was sorry to be told 
in reply that they were ; he knew them to be a bad lot. 
When asked if they had any chief among them, they 
pointed out three. The captain did not believe them, 
but, in order to keep on good terms with them, he gave 
to one a flag, to another a medal, and to the third a hand- 
kerchief. At Captain Lewis' suggestion, the Indians 
and the white men camped together, and in the course 
of the evening the red men told the captain that they 
were part of a big band of their tribe, or nation. The 
rest of the tribe, they said, were hunting further up the 
river, and were then in camp near the foot of the Rocky 
Mountains. The captain, in return, told them that his 
party had come from the great lake where the sun sets, 
and that he was in hopes that he could induce the Minne- 
tarees to live in peace with their neighbors and come 
and trade at the posts that would be established in their 
country by and by. He offered them ten horses and 
some tobacco if they would accompany his party down 
the river below the great falls. To this they made no 
reply. Being still suspicious of these sullen guests. 
Captain Lewis made his dispositions for the night, with 
orders for the sentry on duty to rouse all hands if the 
Indians should attempt to steal anything in the night. 
Next morning trouble began. Says the journal : — 

"At sunrise, the Indians got up and crowded around 
the fire near which J. Fields, who was then on watch, 
had carelessly left his rifle, near the head of his brother, 
who was still asleep. One of the Indians slipped behind 
him, and, unperceived, took his brother's and his own 
rifle, while at the same time two others seized those of 
Drewyer and Captain Lewis. As soon as Fields turned, 
he saw the Indian running off with the rifles; instantly 



The Expedition Subdivided 321 

calling his brother, they pursued him for fifty or sixty yards ; 
just as they overtook him, in the scuffle for the rifles 
R. Fields stabbed him through the heart with his knife. 
The Indian ran about fifteen steps and fell dead. They 
now ran back with their rifles to the camp. The moment 
the fellow touched his gun, Diewyer, who was awake, 
jumped up and wrested it from him. The noise awoke 
Captain Lewis, who instantly started from the ground and 
reached for his gun ; but finding it gone, drew a pistol 
from his belt, and turning saw the Indian running off 
with it. He followed him and ordered him to lay it 
down, which he did just as the two Fields came up, and 
were taking aim to shoot him; when Captain Lewis 
ordered them not to fire, as the Indian did not appear 
to intend any mischief. He dropped the gun and was 
going slowly off when Drewyer came out and asked per- 
mission to kill him; but this Captain Lewis forbade, as 
he had not yet attempted to shoot us. But finding that 
the Indians were now endeavoring to drive off all the 
horses, he ordered all three of us to follow the main 
party, who were chasing the horses up the river, and fire 
instantly upon the thieves; while he, without taking 
time to run for his shot-pouch, pursued the fellow who 
had stolen his gun and another Indian, who were driving 
away the horses on the left of the camp. He pressed 
them so closely that they left twelve of their horses, but 
continued to drive off one of our own. 

"At the distance of three hundred paces they entered a 
steep niche in the river-bluffs, when Captain Lewis, being 
too much out of breath to pursue them any further, called 
out, as he had done several times before, that unless they 
gave up the horse he would shoot them. As he raised 
his gun one of the Indians jumped behind a rock and 



322 First Across the Continent 

spoke to the other, who stopped at the distance of thirty 
paces. Captain Lewis shot him in the belly. He fell 
on his knees and right elbow; but, raising himself a 
little, fired, and then crawled behind a rock. The shot 
had nearly proved fatal ; for Captain Lewis, who was 
bareheaded, felt the wind of the ball very distinctly. 
Not having his shot-pouch, he could not reload his rifle; 
and, having only a single charge also for his pistol, he 
thought it most prudent not to attack them farther, and 
retired slowly to the camp. He was met by Drewyer, 
who, hearing the report of the guns, had come to his 
assistance, leaving the Fields to follow the other Indians. 
Captain Lewis ordered him to call out to them to desist 
from the pursuit, as we could take the horses of the Ln- 
dians in place of our own; but they were at too great 
a distance to hear him. He therefore returned to the 
camp, and while he was saddling the horses the Fields 
returned with four of our own, having followed the 
Indians until two of them swam the river and two others 
ascended the hills, so that the horses became dispersed." 
The white men were gainers by this sad affair, for they 
had now in their possession four of the Indians' horses, 
and had lost one of their own. Besides these, they found 
in the camp of the Indians four shields, two bows and 
their quivers, and one of their two guns. The captain 
took some buffalo meat which he found in the camp, and 
then the rest of their baggage was burned on the spot. 
The flag given to one of the so-called chiefs was retaken ; 
but the medal given to the dead man was left around his 
neck. The consequences of this unfortunate quarrel were 
far-reaching. The tribe whose member was killed by the 
white men never forgave the injury, and for years after 
there was no safety for white men in their vicinity except 



The Expedition Subdivided 323 

when the wayfarers were in great numbers or strongly 
guarded. 

A forced march was now necessary for the explorers, 
and they set out as speedily as possible, well knowing 
that the Indians would be on their trail. By three 
o'clock in the afternoon of that day they had reached 
Tansy River, now known as the Teton, having travelled 
sixty-three miles. They rested for an hour and a half 
to refresh their horses, and then pushed on for seventeen 
miles further before camping again. Having killed a 
buffalo, they had supper and stopped two hours. Then, 
travelling through vast herds of buffalo until two o'clock 
in the morning, they halted again, almost dead with 
fatigue; they rested until daylight. On awaking, they 
found themselves so stiff and sore with much riding that 
they could scarcely stand. But the lives of their friends 
now at or near the mouth of Maria's River were at 
stake, as well as their own. Indeed, it was not certain 
but that the Indians had, by hard riding and a circuitous 
route, already attacked the river party left at the falls. 
So Captain Lewis told his men that they must go on, 
and, if attacked, they must tie their horses together by 
the head and stand together, selling their lives as dearly 
as possible, or routing their enemies. The journal now 
says : — 

"To this they all assented, and we therefore continued 
our route to the eastward, till at the distance of twelve 
miles we came near the Missouri, when we heard a noise 
which seemed like the report of a gun. We therefore 
quickened our pace for eight miles farther, and, being 
about five miles from Grog Spring, now heard distinctly 
the noise of several rifles from the river. We hurried to 
the bank, and saw with exquisite satisfaction our friends 



324 First Across the Continent 

descending the river. They landed to greet us, and 
after turning our horses loose, we embarked with our 
baggage, and went down to the spot where we had made 
a deposite. This, after reconnoitring the adjacent coun- 
try, we opened ; but, unfortunately, the cacJie had caved 
in, and most of the articles were injured. We took 
whatever was still worth preserving, and immediately 
proceeded to the point, where we found our deposits in 
good order. By a singular good fortune, we were here 
joined by Sergeant Gass and Willard from the Falls, 
who had been ordered to come with the horses here to 
assist in procuring meat for the voyage, as it had been 
calculated that the canoes would reach this place much 
sooner than Captain Lewis's party. After a very heavy 
shower of rain and hail, attended with violent thunder 
and lightning, we started from the point, and giving a 
final discharge to our horses, went over to the island 
where we had left our red pirogue, which, however, we 
found much decayed, and we had no means of repairing 
her. We therefore took all the iron work out of her, 
and, proceeding down the river fifteen miles, encamped 
near some cottonwood trees, one of which was of the 
narrow-leafed species, and the first of that kind we had 
remarked in ascending the river. 

"Sergeant Ordway's party, which had left the mouth 
of Madison River on the thirteenth, had descended in 
safety to White Bear Island, where he arrived on the 
nineteenth, and, after collecting the baggage, had left the 
falls on the twenty-seventh in the white pirogue and five 
canoes, while Sergeant Gass and Willard set out at the 
same time by land with the horses, and thus fortunately 
met together." 

S:rgeant Ordway's party, it will be recollected, had 



The Expedition Subdivided 325 

left Captain Clark at the three forks of the Missouri, to 
which they had come down the Jefferson, and thence had 
passed down the Missouri to White Bear Islands, and, 
making the portage, had joined the rest of the party just 
in time to reinforce them. Game was how abundant, 
the buffalo being in enormous herds; and the bighorn 
were also numerous; the flesh of these animals was in 
fine condition, resembling the best of mutton in flavor. 
The reunited party now descended the river, the inten- 
tion being to reach the mouth of the Yellowstone as soon 
as possible, and there wait for Captain Clark, who, it 
will be recalled, was to explore that stream and meet 
them at the point of its junction with the Missouri. 
The voyage of Captain Lewis and his men was without 
startling incident, except that Cruzatte accidentally shot 
the captain, one day, while they were out hunting. The 
wound was through the fleshy part of the left thigh, and 
for a time was very painful. As Cruzatte was not in 
sight when the captain was hit, the latter naturally 
thought he had been shot by Indians hiding in the 
thicket. He reached camp as best he could, and, telling 
his men to arm themselves, he explained that he had 
been shot by Indians. But when Cruzatte came into 
camp, mutual explanations satisfied all hands that a mis- 
understanding had arisen and that Cruzatte's unlucky 
shot was accidental. As an example of the experience 
of the party about this time, while they were on their 
way down the Missouri, we take this extract from their 
journal : — 

"We again saw great numbers of buffalo, elk, ante- 
lope, deer, and wolves; also eagles and other birds, 
among which were geese and a solitary pelican, neither 
of which can fly at present, as they are now shedding the 



326 First Across the Continent 

feathers of their wings. We also saw several bears, one 
of them the largest, except one, we had ever seen ; for he 
measured nine feet from the nose to the extremity of the 
tail. During the night a violent storm came on from the 
northeast with such torrents of rain that we had scarcely 
time to unload the canoes before they filled with water. 
Having no shelter we ourselves were completely wet to 
the skin, and the wind and cold air made our situation 
very unpleasant." 

On the twelfth of August, the Lewis party met with 
two traders from Illinois. These men were camped on 
the northeast side of the river; they had left Illinois the 
previous summer, and had been coming up the Missouri 
hunting and trapping. Captain Lewis learned from them 
that Captain Clark was below ; and later in that day the 
entire expedition was again united. Captain Clark's party 
being found at a point near where Little Knife Creek 
enters the Missouri River. We must now take up the 
narrative of Captain Clark and his adventures on the 
Yellowstone. 



Chapter XXV . 
Adventures on the Yellowstone 

THE route of Captain Clark from the point where he 
and Captain Lewis divided their party, was rather 
more difficult than that pursued by the Lewis detachment. 
But the Clark party was larger, being composed of twenty 
men and Sacajawea and her baby. They were to travel up 
the main fork of Clark's River (sometimes called the Bitter 
Root), to Ross's Hole, and then strike over the great con- 
tinental divide at that point by way of the pass which he 
discovered and which was named for him ; thence he was 
to strike the headwaters of Wisdom River, a stream which 
this generation of men knows by the vulgar name of Big 
Hole River ; from this point he was to go by the way of 
Willard's Creek to Shoshonee Cove and the Two Forks of 
the Jefferson, and thence down that stream to the Three 
Forks of the Missouri, up the Gallatin, and over the divide 
to the Yellowstone and down that river to its junction with 
the Missouri, where he was to join the party of Captain 
Lewis. This is the itinerary that was exactly carried out. 
The very first incident set forth in the journal is a celebra- 
tion of Independence Day, as follows : — 

" Friday^ July 4. Early in the morning three hunters 
were sent out. The rest of the party having collected the 
horses and breakfasted, we proceeded at seven o'clock up 
the valley, which is now contracted to the width of from 
eight to ten miles, with a good proportion of pitch-pine, 



328 First Across the Continent 

though its low lands, as well as the bottoms of the creeks, 
are strewn with large stones. We crossed five creeks of 
different sizes, but of great depth, and so rapid that in pass- 
ing the last several of the horses were driven down the 
stream, and some of our baggage was wet. Near this river 
we saw the tracks of two Indians, whom we supposed to be 
Shoshonees. Having made sixteen miles, we halted at an 
hour for the purpose of doing honor to the birthday of our 
early country's independence. The festival was not very 
splendid, for it consisted of a mush made of cows and a saddle 
of venison ; nor had we anything to tempt us to prolong it. 
We therefore went on till at the distance of a mile we came 
to a very large creek, which, like all those in the valley, had 
an immense rapidity of descent ; we therefore proceeded up 
for some distance, in order to select the most convenient 
spot for fording. Even there, however, such was the vio- 
lence of the current that, though the water was not higher 
than the bellies of the horses, the resistance made in pass- 
ing caused the stream to rise over their backs and loads. 
After passing the creek we inclined to the left, and soon 
after struck the road which we had descended last year, 
near the spot where we dined on the 7th of September 
[1805]. Along this road we continued on the west side of 
Clark's River, till at the distance of thirteen miles, during 
which we passed three more deep, large creeks, we reached 
its western branch, where we camped ; and having sent out 
two hunters, despatched some men to examine the best 
ford across the west fork of the river. The game to-day 
consisted of four deer; though we also saw a herd of ibex, 
or bighorn." 

Two days later they were high up among the moun- 
tains, although the ascent was not very steep. At that 
height they found the weather very cool, so much so that 



Adventures on the Yellowstone 329 

on the morning of the sixth of July, after a cold night, they 
had a heavy white frost on the ground. Setting out on 
that day, Captain Clark crossed a ridge which proved 
to be the dividing line between the Pacific and the Atlantic 
watershed. At the same time he passed from what is now 
Missoula County, Montana, into the present county of Beaver 
Head, in that State. " Beaver Head," the reader will re- 
collect, comes from a natural elevation in that region re- 
sembling the head of a beaver. These points will serve to 
fix in one's mind the route of the first exploring party that 
ever ventured into those wilds ; descending the ridge on 
its eastern slope, the explorers struck Glade Creek, one of 
the sources of the stream then named Wisdom River, a 
branch of the Jefferson; and the Jefferson is one of the 
tributaries of the mighty Missouri. Next day the journal 
has this entry : — 

" In the morning our horses were so much scattered that, 
although we sent out hunters in every direction to range 
the country for six or eight miles, nine of them could not 
be recovered. They were the most valuable of all our 
horses, and so much attached to some of their companions 
that it was difficult to separate them in the daytime. We 
therefore presumed that they must have been stolen by 
some roving Indians ; and accordingly left a party of five 
men to continue the pursuit, while the rest went on to the 
spot where the canoes had been deposited. We set out 
at ten o'clock and pursued a course S. 56° E. across 
the valley, which we found to be watered by four large 
creeks, with extensive low and miry bottoms ; and then 
reached [and crossed] Wisdom River, along the northeast 
side of which we continued, till at the distance of sixteen 
miles we came to its three branches. Near that place we 
stopped for dinner at a hot spring situated in the open 



330 First Across the Continent 

plain. The bed of the spring is about fifteen yards in 
circumference, and composed of loose, hard, gritty stones, 
through which the water boils in great quantities. It is 
slightly impregnated with sulphur, and so hot that a piece 
of meat about the size of three fingers was completely 
done in twenty-five minutes." 

Next day, July 8, the party reached the forks of the Jef- 
ferson River, where they had cached their goods in August, 
1805 ; they had now travelled one hundred and sixty-four 
miles from Traveller's-rest Creek to that point. The 
men were out of tobacco, and as there was some among 
the goods deposited in the cache they made haste to open 
the cache. They found everything safe, although some of 
the articles were damp, and a hole had been made in the 
bottom of one of the canoes. Here they were overtaken 
by Sergeant Ordway and his party with the nine horses 
that had escaped during the night of the seventh. 

That night the weather was so cold that water froze in a 
basin to a thickness of three-quarters of an inch, and the 
grass around the camp was stiff with frost, although the 
month of July was nearly a week old. The boats taken 
from the cache were now loaded, and the explorers were 
divided into two bands, one to descend the river by boat 
and the other to take the same general route on horseback, 
the objective point being the Yellowstone. The story is 
taken up here by the journal in these lines : — 

" After breakfast [July 10] the two parties set out, those 
on shore skirting the eastern side of Jefferson River, through 
Service [-berry] Valley and over Rattlesnake Mountain, 
into a beautiful and extensive country, known among the 
Indians by the name of Hahnahappapchah, or Beaverhead 
Valley, from the number of those animals to be found in it, 
and also from the point of land resembling the head of 



Adventures on the Yellowstone 331 

a beaver. It [the valley] extends from Rattlesnake Moun- 
tain as low as Frazier's Creek, and is about fifty miles in 
length in direct line ; while its width varies from ten to 
fifteen miles, being watered in its whole course by Jefferson 
River and six different creeks. The valley is open and 
fertile ; besides the innumerable quantities of beaver and 
otter with which its creeks are supplied, the bushes of the 
low grounds are a favorite resort for deer ; while on the 
higher parts of the valley are seen scattered groups of 
antelopes, and still further, on the steep sides of the moun- 
tains, are observed many bighorns, which take refuge there 
from the wolves and bears. At the distance of fifteen 
miles the two parties stopped to dine ; when Captain 
Clark, finding that the river became wider and deeper, and 
that the canoes could advance more rapidly than the 
horses, determined to go himself by water, leaving Ser- 
geant Pryor with six men to bring on the horses. In this 
way they resumed their journey after dinner, and camped 
on the eastern side of the river, opposite the head of 
Three-thousand-mile Island. The beaver were basking in 
great numbers along the shore ; there were also some 
young wild geese and ducks. The mosquitoes were very 
troublesome during the day, but after sunset the weather 
became cool and they disappeared." 

Three-thousand-mile Island was so named by the ex- 
plorers, when they ascended these streams, because it was 
at a point exactly three thousand miles from the mouth 
of the Missouri. But no such island exists now; it has 
probably been worn away by the swift-rushing current of 
the river. The route of Captain Clark and his party, up 
to this time had been a few miles west of Bannock City, 
Montana. As the captain was now to proceed by land 
to the Yellowstone, again leaving the canoe party, it is 



332 First Across the Continent 

well to recall the fact that his route from the Three Forks 
of the Missouri to the Yellowstone follows pretty nearly 
the present line of the railroad from Gallatin City to 
Livingston, by the way of Bozeman Pass. Of this route 
the journal says : — 

" Throughout the whole, game was very abundant. 
They procured deer in the low grounds ; beaver and otter 
were seen in Gallatin River, and elk, wolves, eagles, hawks, 
crows, and geese at different parts of the route. The plain 
was intersected by several great roads leading to a gap 
in the mountains, about twenty miles distant, in a direction 
E.N.E. ; but the Indian woman, who was acquainted with 
the country, recommended a gap more to the southward. 
This course Captain Clark determined to pursue." 

Let us pause here to pay a little tribute to the memory 
of " the Indian woman," Sacajawea. She showed that 
she was very observant, had a good memory, and was 
plucky and determined when in trouble. She was the 
guide of the exploring party when she was in a region of 
country, as here, with which she was familiar. She re- 
membered localities which she had not seen since her 
childhood. When their pirogue was upset by the care- 
lessness of her husband, it was she who saved the goods 
and helped to right the boat. And, with her helpless 
infant clinging to her, she rode with the men, guiding 
them with unerring skill through the mountain fastnesses 
and lonely passes which the white men saw for the first 
time when their salient features were pointed out to them 
by the intelligent and faithful Sacajawea. The Indian 
woman has long since departed to the Happy Hunting- 
Grounds of her fathers ; only her name and story remain 
to us who follow the footsteps of the brave pioneers of the 
western continent. But posterity should not forget the 



Adventures on the Yellowstone 



333 



services which were rendered to the white race by 
Sacajawea. 

On the fifteenth of July, the party arrived at the ridge 
that divides the Missouri and the Yellowstone, nine miles 
from which they reached the river itself, about a mile and 
a half from the point where it issues from the Rocky 
Mountains. Their journey down the valley of the Yellow- 
stone was devoid of special interest, but was accompanied 
with some hardships. For example, the feet of the horses 
had become so sore with long travel over a stony trail that 
it was necessary to shoe them with raw buffalo hide. Rain 
fell frequently and copiously ; and often, sheltered at night 
only by buffalo hides, they rose in the morning drenched 
to the skin. The party could not follow the course of the 
river very closely, but were compelled often to cross hills 
that came down to the bank, making the trail impassable 
for horses. Here is the story of July i8 and 19: — 

" Gibson, one of the party, was so badly hurt by falling 
on a sharp point of wood that he was unable to sit on his 
horse, and they were obliged to form a sort of litter for 
him, so that he could lie nearly at full length. The wound 
became so painful, however, after proceeding a short dis- 
tance, that he could not bear the motion, and they leff: 
him with two men, while Captain Clark went to search for 
timber large enough to form canoes. He succeeded in 
finding some trees of sufficient size for small canoes, two 
of which he determined to construct, and by lashing them 
together hoped to make them answer the purpose of con- 
veying the party down the river, while a few of his men 
should conduct the horses to the Mandans. All hands, 
therefore, were set busily to work, and they were employed 
in this labor for several days. In the mean time no less 
than twenty-four of their horses were missing, and they 



334 First Across the Continent 

strongly suspected had been stolen by the Indians, for 
they were unable to find them, notwithstanding they made 
the most diligent search." 

"July 23. A piece of a robe and a moccasin," says the 
journal, *' were discovered this morning not far from the 
camp. The moccasin was worn out in the sole, and yet 
wet, and had every appearance of having been left but a 
few hours before. This was conclusive that the Indians 
had taken our horses, and were still prowling about for 
the remainder, which fortunately escaped last night by 
being in a small prairie surrounded by thick timber. At 
length Labiche, one of our best trackers, returned from 
a very wide circuit, and informed Captain Clark that he 
had traced the horses bending their course rather down 
the river towards the open plains, and from their tracks, 
must have been going very rapidly. All hopes of recover- 
ing them were now abandoned. Nor were the Indians the 
only plunderers around our camp ; for in the night the 
wolves or dogs stole the greater part of the dried meat 
from the scaffold. The wolves, which constantly attend 
the buffalo, were here in great numbers, as this seemed to 
be the commencement of the buffalo country. . . . 

" At noon the two canoes were finished. They were 
twenty-eight feet long, sixteen or eighteen inches deep, 
and from sixteen to twenty-four inches wide ; and, having 
lashed them together, everything was ready for setting out 
the next day, Gibson having now recovered. Sergeant 
Pryor was directed, with Shannon and Windsor, to take 
the remaining horses to the Mandans, and if he should 
find that Mr. Henry [a trading-post agent] was on the 
Assiniboin River, to go thither and deliver him a letter, 
the object of which was to prevail on the most distinguished 
chiefs of the Sioux to accompany him to Washington." 



Adventures on the Yellowstone 335 

/" 
On a large island near the mouth of a creek now known 

as Canyon Creek, the party landed to explore an exten- 
sive Indian lodge which seems to have been built for coun- 
cils, rather than for a place of residence. The lodge was 
shaped like a cone, sixty feet in diameter at the base and 
tapering towards the top. The poles of which it was 
constructed were forty-five feet long. The interior was 
strangely decorated, the tops of the poles being orna- 
mented with eagles' feathers, and from the centre hung 
a stuffed buffalo-hide. A buffalo's head and other trophies 
of the chase were disposed about the wigwam. The valley, 
as the explorers descended the river, was very picturesque 
and wonderful. On the north side the cliffs were wild and 
romantic, and these were soon succeeded by rugged hills, 
and these, in turn, by open plains on which were descried 
herds of buffalo, elk, and wolves. On the twenty-seventh 
of July, having reached the Bighorn, one of the largest 
tributaries of the Yellowstone, the party have this entry in 
their journal : — 

" They again set out very early, and on leaving the 
Bighorn took a last look at the Rocky Mountains, which 
had been constantly in view from the first of May. The 
[Yellowstone] river now widens to the extent of from four 
hundred to six hundred yards ; it is much divided by islands 
and sandbars; its banks are generally low and falling in; 
it thus resembles the Missouri in many particulars, but 
its islands are more numerous, its waters less muddy, and 
the current is more rapid. The water is of a yellowish- 
white, and the round stones, which form the bars above 
the Bighorn, have given place to gravel. On the left 
side the river runs under cliffs of light, soft, gritty stone, 
varying in height from seventy to one hundred feet, behind 
which are level and extensive plains. On the right side 



33^ First Across the Continent 

of the river are low extensive bottoms, bordered with 
Cottonwood, various species of willow, rose-bushes, grape- 
vines, redberry or buffalo-grease bushes, and a species of 
sumach; to these succeed high grounds supplied with 
pine, and still further on are level plains. Throughout 
the country are vast quantities of buffalo, which, as this 
is the running-season, keep up a continued bellowing. 
Large herds of elk also are lying on every point, so 
gentle that they may be approached within twenty paces 
without being alarmed. Several beaver were seen in 
the course of the day; indeed, there is a greater appear- 
ance of those animals than there was above the Bighorn. 
Deer, however, are by no means abundant, and antelopes, 
as well as bighorns, are scarce." 

It is noticeable that the explorers, all along their route, 
gave to streams, rocks, mountains, and other natural fea- 
tures of the country many names that appear to us mean- 
ingless and trifling. It would appear that they used up 
all the big names, such as Jefferson, Gallatin, Philoso- 
phy, Philanthropy, and the like, and were compelled to 
use, first, the names of their own party, and then such 
titles as were suggested by trifling incidents. For ex- 
ample, when they reached a difficult shoal on the Yellow- 
stone River, they named that Buffalo Shoal because they 
found a buffalo on it; and Buffalo Shoal it remains unto 
this day. In like manner, when they reached a danger- 
ous rapid, twenty miles below that point, they saw a bear 
standing on a rock in the stream ; and Bear Rapid the 
place was and is named. Bear and buffalo were pretty 
numerous all the way along that part of the river which 
they navigated in July. They had now rejoined the 
boats, and on the last day of July, when camped at a 
point two miles above Wolf Rapid (so called from seeing 



Adventures on the Yellowstone 337 

a wolf there), the buffalo were continually prowling about 
the camp at night, exciting much alarm lest they should 
trample on the boats and ruin them. In those days, 
buffalo were so numerous that they were a nuisance to 
travellers; and they were so free from fear of man that 
they were too familiar with the camps and equipage. On 
the first of August we find this entry in the journal of 
the party : — 

"The buffalo now appear in vast numbers. A herd 
happened to be on their way across the river. Such was 
the multitude of these animals that, though the river, 
including an island over which they passed, was a mile 
wide, the herd stretched, as thickly as they could swim, 
from one side to the other, and the party was obliged to 
stop for an hour. They consoled themselves for the 
delay by killing four of the herd; and then having pro- 
ceeded for the distance of forty-five miles [in all to-day] to 
an island, below which two other herds of buffalo, as num- 
erous as the first, soon after crossed the river." 

Again, on the very next day, we find this entry: — 
"The river was now about a mile wide, less rapid, and 
more divided by islands, and bars of sand and mud, than 
heretofore; the low grounds, too, were more extensive, 
and contained a greater quantity of cottonwood, ash, and 
willows. On the northwest was a low, level plain, and 
on the southeast some rugged hills, on which we saw, 
without being able to approach them, some bighorns. 
Buffalo and elk, as well as their pursuers, the wolves, 
were in great numbers. On each side of the river there 
wei-e several dry beds of streams, but the only one of any 
considerable size was one to which they gave the name 
of Ibex River, on the right, about thirty yards wide, and 
sixteen miles from their encampment of the preceding 



338 First Across the Continent 

night. The bear, which had given them so much trouble 
at the head of the Missouri, they found equally fierce 
here. One of these animals, which was on a sand-bar 
as the boat passed, raised himself on his. hind feet, and 
after looking at the party for a moment, plunged in and 
swam towards them ; but, after receiving three balls in 
the body, he turned and made for the shore. Towards 
evening they saw another enter the water to swim across; 
when Captain Clark directed the boat towards the shore, 
and just as the animal landed shot it in the head. It 
proved to be the largest female they had ever seen, and 
was so old that its tusks were worn quite smooth. The 
boats escaped with difficulty between two herds of buffalo 
that were crossing the river, and came near being again 
detained by them. Among the elk of this neighbor- 
hood they saw an unusual number of males, while higher 
up the herds consisted chiefly of females." 

It is almost incredible that these wild animals should 
have been so nearly exterminated by hunters and other 
rovers of the plains, very soon after travel set in across 
the continent. The writer of these lines, who crossed 
the plains to California so lately as 1856, saw buffalo 
killed for the sake of their tongues, or to give rifle prac- 
tice to the wayfarers. After the overland railroad was 
opened, passengers shot buffalo from the car-windows, 
well knowing that they could not get their game, even 
if they should kill as they flew by a herd. There are 
no buffalo nor elk where millions once roamed almost 
unmolested. 

Early in the afternoon of August 3, the party reached 
the junction of the Yellowstone and the Missouri, and 
camped on the same spot where they had pitched their 
tents on the 26th of April, 1805. They were nearing the 
end of their long journey. 




A Big Horn I'ASTUHAfjK 



Adventures on the Yellowstone 339 

But their troubles thickened as they drew near the 
close of their many miles of travel. The journal for 
August 4 has this record : — 

" The camp became absolutely uninhabitable in conse- 
quence of the multitude of mosquitoes ; the men could 
not work in preparing skins for clothing, nor hunt in 
the timbered low grounds; there was no mode of escape, 
except by going on the sand-bars in the river, where, if 
the wind should blow, the insects do not venture; but 
when there is no wind, and particularly at night, when 
the men have no covering except their worn-out blankets, 
the pain they suffer is scarcely to be endured. There 
was also a want of meat, for no buffalo were to be found; 
and though elk are very abundant, yet their fat and flesh 
is more difficult to dry in the sun, and is also much 
more easily spoiled than the meat or fat of either deer or 
buffalo. 

"Captain Clark therefore determined to go on to some 
spot which should be free from mosquitoes and furnish 
more game. Having written a note to Captain Lewis, to 
inform him of his intention, and stuck it on a pole at the 
confluence of the two rivers, he loaded the canoes at five 
in the afternoon, proceeded down the river to the second 
point, and camped on a sand-bar; but here the mosqui- 
toes seemed to be even more numerous than above. The 
face of the Indian child was considerably puffed up and 
swollen with their bites ; the men could procure scarcely 
any sleep during the night, and the insects continued to 
harass them next morning, as they proceeded. On one 
occasion Captain Clark went on shore and ascended a 
hill after one of the bighorns; but the mosquitoes were 
in such multitudes that he could not keep them from 
the barrel of his rifle long enough to take aim. About 



340 First Across the Continent 

ten o'clock, however, a light breeze sprung up from the 
northwest, and dispersed them in some degree. Captain 
Clark then landed on a sand-bar, intending to wait for 
Captain Lewis, and went out to hunt. But not finding 
any buffalo, he again proceeded in the afternoon ; and 
having killed a large white bear, camped under a high 
bluff exposed to a light breeze from the southwest, which 
blew away the mosquitoes. About eleven o'clock, how- 
ever, the wind became very high and a storm of rain came 
on, which lasted for two hours, accompanied with sharp 
lightning and loud peals of thunder. 

" The party rose, next day, very wet, and proceeded to a 
sand-bar below the entrance of Whiteearth River. Just 
above this place the Indians, apparently within seven or 
eight days past, had been digging a root which they 
employ in making a kind of soup. Having fixed their 
tents, the men were employed in dressing skins and 
hunting. They shot a number of deer; but only two of 
them were fat, owing probably to the great quantities 
of mosquitoes which annoy them while feeding." 

On the eleventh of August the Clark party came up 
with the two white traders from Illinois, of whom we 
have already made mention as having been met by the 
Lewis party on their way down the river. These were 
the first white men they had seen (except themselves) 
since they parted with the three French trappers, near 
the Little Missouri, in April, 1805. From them the 
wayworn voyagers received the latest news from the 
United States. From them they also had some unfavor- 
able tidings. The journal says: — 

" These men had met the boat which we had despatched 
from Fort Mandan, on boa!»d of which, they were told, 
was a Ricara chief on his way to Washington; and also 



Adventures on the Yellowstone 341 

another party of Yankton chiefs, accompanying Mr. 
Durion on a visit of the same kind. We were sorry to 
learn that the Mandans and Minnetarees were at war 
with the Ricaras, and had killed two of them. The 
Assiniboins too are at war with the Mandans. They 
have, in consequence, prohibited the Northwestern Com- 
pany from trading to the Missouri, and even killed two 
of their traders near Mouse River; they are now lying 
in wait for Mr. McKenzie of the Northwestern Company, 
who has been for a long time among the Minnetarees. 
These appearances are rather unfavorable to our project 
of carrying some of the chiefs to the United States; but 
we still hope that, by effecting a peace between the 
Mandans, Minnetarees, and Ricaras, the views of our 
Government may be accomplished," 

Next day, August 12, 1806, the party, slowly descend- 
ing the river, were overjoyed to see below them the little 
flotilla of Captain Lewis and his men. But they were 
alarmed when they discovered that Lewis was not with 
them ; as the boats landed at the shore, the captain was 
not to be seen. Captain Clark's party, on coming up 
with their friends, were told that Lewis was lying in the 
pirogue, having been accidentally wounded. The whole 
party were now happily reunited, and they were soon 
joined by the two Illinois traders whom they had met up 
the river; these men wished to accompany the expedition 
down the river as far as the Mandan nation, for the pur- 
pose of trading; they were more secure with a large party 
of white men than they would be if left to themselves. 



Chapter XXVI 
The End of a Long Journey 

THE reunited party now set out for the lower river 
and proceeded rapidly down-stream, favored with 
a good wind. They made eighty-six miles on the first 
day, passing the mouth of the Little Missouri early in 
the forenoon, and camping at Miry River, on the north- 
east side of the Missouri. On the second day they 
arrived at the principal village of the Minnetarees, where 
they were received with cordial welcome by their old 
friends. The explorers fired their blunderbuss several 
times by way of salute, and the Indian chiefs expressed 
their satisfaction at the safe return of the white men. 
One of the Minnetaree chiefs, however, wept bitterly at 
the sight of the whites, and it was explained by his 
friends that their coming reminded him of the death of 
his son, who had been lately killed by the Blackfoot 
Indians. 

Arriving at the village of the Mandans, of which Black 
Cat was the chief, a council was called, and the chiefs of 
the expedition endeavored to persuade some of the lead- 
ing men of the tribe to accompany them to Washington 
to see "the Great Father." Black Cat expressed his 
strong desire to visit the United States and see the 
Great Father, but he was afraid of the Sioux, their 
ancient enemies, through whose territory they must pass 
on their way down to the white man's country. This 



The End of a Long Journey 343 

chief, it will be recollected, was given a flag and a medal 
by the two captains when they passed up the river on 
their way to the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific coast. 
The flag was now brought on and hoisted on the lodge of 
Black Cat. On that occasion, also, the commanders of 
the expedition had given the Indians a number of useful 
articles, among them being a portable corn-mill. But 
the Indians had other uses for metal, and they had taken 
the mill apart and used the iron for the purpose of mak- 
ing barbs for their arrows. From the Omahas, who were 
located here, the white men received a present of as 
much corn as three men could carry. Black Cat also 
gave them a dozen bushels of corn. 

Their days of starvation and famine were over. They 
were next visited by Le Borgne, better known as One- 
eye, the head chief of all the Minnetarees, to whom 
Lewis and Clark also extended an invitation to go to 
Washington to see the Great Father. The journal 
says : — 

" Le Borgne began by declaring that he much desired 
to visit his Great Father, but that the Sioux would cer- 
tainly kill any of the Mandans who should attempt to go 
down the river. They were bad people, and would not 
listen to any advice. When he saw us last, we had told 
him that we had made peace with all the nations below; 
yet the Sioux had since killed eight of his tribe, and 
stolen a number of their horses. The Ricaras too had 
stolen their horses, and in the contest his people had 
killed two of the Ricaras. Yet in spite of these disposi- 
tions he had always had his ears open to our counsels, 
and had actually made a peace with the Chayennes and 
the Indians of the Rocky Mountains. He concluded by 
saying, that however disposed they were to visit the 



344 First Across the Continent 

United States, the fear of the Sioux would prevent them 
from going with us." 

The truth was that One-eye had no notion of going to 
Washington ; he was afraid of nobody, and his plea of 
possible danger among the Sioux was mere nonsense to 
deceive the white men. Captain Clark visited the vil- 
lage of Black Cat, and that worthy savage made the same 
excuse that Le Borgne (One-eye) had already put forth; 
he was afraid of the Sioux. The journal adds: — 

"Captain Clark then spoke to the chiefs and warriors 
of the village. He told them of his anxiety that some 
of them should see their Great Father, hear his good 
words, and receive his gifts; and requested them to fix 
on some confidential chief who might accompany us. 
To this they made the same objections as before; till at 
length a young man offered to go, and the warriors all 
assented to it. But the character of this man was known 
to be bad; and one of the party with Captain Clark 
informed him that at the moment he [this Indian] had 
in his possession a knife which he had stolen. Captain 
Clark therefore told the chief of this theft, and ordered 
the knife to be given up. This was done with a poor 
apology for having it in his possession, and Captain Clark 
then reproached the chiefs for wishing to send such a 
fellow to see and hear so distinguished a person as their 
Great Father. They all hung down their heads for 
some time, till Black Cat apologized by saying that 
the danger was such that they were afraid of sending any 
one of their chiefs, as they considered his loss almost 
inevitable." 

Although there was so much reluctance on the part of 
the Indians to leave their roving life, even for a few 
months, there were some white men among the explorers 



The End of a Long Journey 345 

who were willing to give up their home in "the States." 
The journal says : — 

"In the evening Colter applied to us for permission to 
join the two trappers who had accompanied us, and who 
now proposed an expedition up the river^ in which they 
were to find traps and to give him a share of the profits. 
The offer was a very advantageous one; and as he had 
always performed his duty, and his services could be dis- 
pensed with, we consented to his going upon condition 
that none of the rest were to ask or expect a similar 
indulgence. To this they all cheerfully assented, saying 
that they wished Colter every success, and would not 
apply for liberty to separate before we reached St. Louis. 
We therefore supplied him, as did his comrades also, 
with powder and lead, and a variety of articles which 
might be useful to him, and he left us the next day. 
The example of this man shows how easily men may 
be weaned from the habits of civilized life to the ruder, 
though scarcely less fascinating, manners of the woods. 
This hunter had now been absent for many years from 
the frontiers, and might naturally be presumed to have 
some anxiety, or at least curiosity, to return to his 
friends and his country; yet, just at the moment when 
he was approaching the frontiers, he was tempted by a 
hunting scheme to give up all those delightful prospects, 
and to go back without the least reluctance to the soli- 
tude of the wilds." 

The two captains learned here that the Minnetarees 
had sent out a war-party against the Shoshonees, very 
soon after the white men's expedition had left for the 
Rocky Mountains, notwithstanding their promise to keep 
peace with the surrounding tribes. They had also sent 
a war-party against the Ricaras, two of whom they killed. 



346 First Across the Continent 

Accordingly, the white chiefs had a powwow with the 
Indian chiefs, at which the journal says these incidents 
occurred : — 

" We took this opportunity of endeavoring to engage 
Le Borgne in our interests by a present of the swivel, 
which is no longer serviceable, as it cannot be dis- 
charged from our largest pirogue. It was loaded; and 
the chiefs being formed into a circle round it. Captain 
Clark addressed them with great ceremony. He said 
that he had listened with much attention to what had 
yesterday been declared by Le Borgne, whom he believed 
to be sincere, and then reproached them with their dis- 
regard of our counsels, and their wars on the Shoshonees 
and Ricaras. Little Cherry, the old Minnetaree chief, 
answered that they had long stayed at home and listened 
to our advice, but at last went to war against the Sioux 
because their horses had been stolen and their compan- 
ions killed ; and that in an expedition against those peo- 
ple they met the Ricaras, who were on their way to strike 
them, and a battle ensued. But in future he said they 
would attend to our words and live at peace, Le Borgne 
added that his ears would always be open to the words of 
his Good Father, and shut against bad counsel. Captain 
Clark then presented to Le Borgne the swivel, which he 
told him had announced the words of his Great Father to 
all the nations we had seen, and which, whenever it was 
fired, should recall those which we had delivered to him. 
The gun was discharged, and Le Borgne had it con- 
veyed in great pomp to his village. The council then 
adjourned." 

After much diplomacy and underhand scheming, one 
of the Mandan chiefs, Big White, agreed to go to Wash- 
ington with the expedition. But none of the Minne- 



The End of a Long Journey 347 

tarees could be prevailed upon to leave their tribe, even 
for a journey to the Great Father, of whose power and 
might so much had been told them. The journal, nar- 
rating this fact, says further: — 

" The principal chiefs of the Minnetarees now came 
down to bid us farewell, as none of them could be pre- 
vailed on to go with us. This circumstance induced our 
interpreter, Chaboneau, to remain here with his wife and 
child, as he could no longer be of use to us, and, although 
we offered to take him with us to the United States, he 
declined, saying that there he had no acquaintance, and 
no chance of making a livelihood, and preferred remain- 
ing among the Indians. This man had been very service- 
able to us, and his wife was particularly useful among 
the Shoshonees: indeed, she had borne with a patience 
truly admirable the fatigues of so long a route, encum- 
bered with the charge of an infant, who was then only 
nineteen months old. We therefore paid him his wages, 
amounting to five hundred dollars and thirty-three cents, 
including the price of a horse and a lodge purchased of 
him, and soon afterward dropped down to the village of 
Big White, attended on shore by all the Indian chiefs, 
who had come to take leave of him. 

"We found him surrounded by his friends, who sat in 
a circle smoking, while the women were crying. He 
immediately sent his wife and son, with their baggage, 
on board, accompanied by the interpreter and his wife, 
and two children ; and then, after distributing among his 
friends some powder and ball which we had given him, 
and smoking a pipe, he went with us to the river side. 
The whole village crowded about us, and many of the 
people wept aloud at the departure of their chief." 

Once more embarked, the party soon reached Fort 



^ 



348 First Across the Continent 

Mandan, where they had wintered in 1804. They found 
very little of their old stronghold left except a few 
pickets and one of the houses. The rest had been de- 
stroyed by an accidental fire. Eighteen miles below, 
they camped near an old Ricara village, and next day, 
as they were about to resume their voyage, a brother of 
Big White, whose camp was farther inland, came run- 
ning down to the beach to bid Big White farewell. The 
parting of the two brothers was very affectionate, and 
the elder gave the younger a pair of leggings as a fare- 
well present. The Indian chief was satisfied with his 
treatment by the whites, and interested himself to tell 
them traditions of localities which they passed. August 
20 they were below the mouth of Cannon-ball River, 
and were in the country occupied and claimed by the 
Sioux. Here, if anywhere, they must be prejDared for 
attacks from hostile Indians. At this point, the journal 
sets forth this interesting observation: — 

"Since we passed in 1804, a very obvious change has 
taken place in the current and appearance of the Mis- 
souri. In places where at that time there were sand- 
bars, the current of the river now passes, and the former 
channel of the river is in turn a bank of sand. Sand- 
bars then naked are now covered with willows several 
feet high; the entrance of some of the creeks and rivers 
has changed in consequence of the quantity of mud 
thrown into them ; and in some of the bottoms are layers 
of mud eight inches in depth." 

The streams that flow into the Missouri and Mississippi 
from the westward are notoriously fickle and changeable. 
Within a very few years, some of them have changed 
their course so that farms are divided into two parts, or 
are nearly wiped out by the Vv^andering streams. In at 



The End of a Long Journey 349 

least one instance, artful men have tried to steal part of 
a State by changing the boundary line along the bed 
of the river, making the stream flow many miles across 
a tract around which it formerly meandered. On this 
boundary line between the Sioux and their upper neigh- 
bors, the party met a band of Chcyennes and another of 
Ricaras, or Arikaras. They held a palaver with these 
Indians and reproached the Ricara chief, who was called 
Gray-eyes, with having engaged in hostilities with the 
Sioux, notwithstanding the promises made when the 
white men were here before. To this Gray-eyes made 
an animated reply : — 

" He declared that the Ricaras were willing to follow 
the counsels we had given them, but a few of their bad 
young men would not live in peace, but had joined the 
Sioux and thus embroiled them with the Mandans. 
These young men had, however, been driven out of the 
villages, and as the Ricaras were now separated from 
the Sioux, who were a bad people and the cause of all 
their misfortunes, they now desired to be at peace with 
the Mandans, and would receive them with kindness and 
friendship. Several of the chiefs, he said, were desirous 
of visiting their Great Father; but as the chief who went 
to the United States last summer had not returned, and 
they had some fears for his safety, on account of the 
Sioux, they did not wish to leave home until they heard 
of him. With regard to himself, he would continue with 
his nation, to see that they followed our advice. 

"After smoking for some time. Captain Clark gave a 
small medal to the Chayenne chief, and explained at the 
same time the meaning of it. He seemed alarmed at 
this present, and sent for a robe and a quantity of buffalo- 



350 First Across the Continent 

meat, which he gave to Captain Clark, and requested him 
to take back the medal ; for he knew that all white people 
were 'medicine/ and was afraid of the medal, or of any- 
thing else which the white people gave to the Indians. 
Captain Clark then repeated his intention in giving the 
medal, which was the medicine his great father had 
directed him to deliver to all chiefs who listened to his 
word and followed his counsels; and that as he [the 
chief] had done so, the medal was given as a proof that 
we believed him sincere. He now appeared satisfied and 
received the medal, in return for which he gave double 
the quantity of buffalo-meat he had offered before. He 
seemed now quite reconciled to the whites, and requested 
that some traders might be sent among the Chayennes, 
who lived, he said, in a country full of beaver, but did 
not understand well how to catch them, and were dis- 
couraged from it by having no sale for them when caught. 
Captain Clark promised that they should be soon sup- 
plied with goods and taught the best mode of catching 
beaver. 

"Big White, the chief of the Mandans, now addressed 
them at some length, explaining the pacific intentions of 
his nation; the Chayennes observed that both the Ricaras 
and Mandans seemed to be in fault ; but at the end of the 
council the Mandan chief was treated with great civility, 
and the greatest harmony prevailed among them. The 
great chief, however, informed us that none of the Ricaras 
could be prevailed on to go with us till the return of the 
other chief; and that the Chayennes were a wild people, 
afraid to go. He invited Captain Clark to his house, 
and gave him two carrots of tobacco, two beaver-skins, 
and a trencher of boiled corn and beans. It is the cus- 
tom of all the nations on the Missouri to offer to every 



The End of a Long Journey 351 

white man food and refreshment when he first enters their 
tents. " 

Resuming their voyage, the party reached Tyler's 
River, where they camped, on the twenty-seventh of 
August. This stream is now known as Medicine River, 
from Medicine Hill, a conspicuous landmark rising at a 
little distance from the Missouri. The voyagers were 
now near the lower portion of what is now known as 
South Dakota, and they camped in territory embraced in 
the county of Presho. Here they were forced to send out 
their hunters; their stock of meat was nearly exhausted. 
The hunters returned empty-handed. 

"After a hunt of three hours they reported that no 
game was to be found in the bottoms, the grass having 
been laid flat by the immense number of buffaloes which 
recently passed over it; and, that they saw only a few 
buffalo bulls, which they did not kill, as they were quite 
unfit for use. Near this place we observed, however, the 
first signs of the wild turkey; not long afterward we 
landed in the Big Bend, and killed a fine fat elk, on 
which we feasted. Toward night we heard the bellowing 
of buffalo bulls on the lower island of the Big Bend. 
We pursued this agreeable sound, and after killing some 
of the cows, camped on the island, forty-five miles from 
the camp of last night." 

"Setting out at ten o'clock the next morning, at a 
short distance they passed the mouth of White River, 
the water of which was nearly of the color of milk. As 
they were much occupied with hunting, they made but 
twenty miles. The buffalo," says the journal, "were 
now so numerous, that from an eminence we discovered 
more than we had ever seen before at one time; and 



352 First Across the Continent 

though it was impossible accurately to calculate their 
number, they darkened the whole plain, and could not 
have been, we were convinced, less than twenty thou- 
sand. With regard to game in general, we have observed 
that wild animals are usually found in the greatest num- 
bers in the country lying between two nations at war." 

They were now well into the Sioux territory, and on 
the thirtieth of August they had an encounter with a 
party of Indians. About twenty persons were seen on 
the west side of the river, proceeding along a height 
opposite the voyagers. Just as these were observed, 
another band, numbering eighty or ninety, came out of 
the woods nearer the shore. As they had a hostile 
appearance, the party in the canoes made preparations 
to receive them; they were suspected to be Teton-Sioux, 
although they might be Yanktons, Pawnees, or Omahas. 
The journal adds: — 

" In order, however, to ascertain who they were, with- 
out risk to the party, Captain Clark crossed, with three 
persons who could speak different Indian languages, to a 
sand-bar near the opposite side, in hopes of conversing 
with them. Eight young men soon met him on the 
sand-bar, but none of them could understand either the 
Pawnee or Maha interpreter. They were then addressed 
in the Sioux language, and answered that they were 
Tetons, of the band headed by Black Buffaloe, Tahtack- 
asabah. This was the same who had attempted to stop 
us in 1804; and being now less anxious about offending 
so mischievous a tribe, Captain Clark told them that they 
had been deaf to our councils, had ill-treated us two 
years ago, and had abused all the whites who had since 
visited them. He believed them, he added, to be bad 
people, and they must therefore return to their compan- 




K 



The End of a Long Journey 353 

ions ; for if they crossed over to our camp we would put 
them to death. They asked for some corn, which Cap- 
tain Clark refused; they then requested permission to 
come and visit our camp, but he ordered them back to 
their own people. He then returned, and all our arms 
were prepared, in case of an attack; but when the In- 
dians reached their comrades, and informed their chiefs 
of our intention, they all set out on their way to their 
own camp; though some of them halted on a rising 
ground and abused us very copiously, threatening to kill 
us if we came across. We took no notice of this for 
some time, till the return of three of our hunters, whom 
we were afraid the Indians might have met. But as soon 
as they joined us we embarked ; and to see what the 
Indians would attempt, steered near their side of the 
liver. At this the party on the hill seemed agitated ; 
some set out for their camp, others walked about, and 
one man walked toward the boats and invited us to land. 
As he came near, we recognized him to be the same who 
had accompanied us for two days in 1804, and was con- 
sidered a friend of the whites. 

"Unwilling, however, to have any intercourse with 
these people, we declined his invitation, upon which he 
returned to the hill, and struck the earth three times with 
his gun, a great oath among the Indians, who consider 
swearing by the earth as one of the most solemn forms 
of imprecation. At the distance of six miles we stopped 
on a bleak sand-bar, where we thought ourselves secure 
from any attack during the night, and also safe from the 
mosquitoes. We had made but twenty-two miles, but in 
the course of the day had killed a mule-deer, an animal 
we were very anxious to obtain. About eleven in the 
evening the wind shifted to the northwest, and it began 

23 



354 First Across the Continent 

to rain, accompanied by thunder and li<^htning, after 
which the wind changed to the southwest, and blew with 
such violence that we were obliged to hold fast the 
canoes, for fear of their being driven from the sand-bar : 
still, the cables of two of them broke, and two others 
were blown quite across the river; nor was it till two 
o'clock that the whole party were reassembled, waiting 
in the rain for daylight." 

The party now began to meet white men in small de- 
tachments coming up the river. On the third of Sep- 
tember, for example, they met the first men who were 
able to give them news of home. This party was com- 
manded by a Mr. James Airs (or Ayres), from Mackinaw, 
by the way of Prairie du Chien and St. Louis. He had 
two canoes loaded with merchandise which he was taking 
up the river to trade with the Indians. Among the items 
of news gathered from him, according to the private jour- 
nal of one of the Lewis and Clark party, was that General 
James Wilkinson was now Governor of Louisiana Ter- 
ritory, and was stationed at St. Louis. This is the 
Wilkinson who fought in the American Revolution, and 
was subsequently to this time accused of accepting 
bribes from Spain and of complicity with Aaron Burr 
in his treasonable schemes. Another item was to this 
effect: "Mr. Burr & Genl. Hambleton fought a Duel, 
the latter was killed." This brief statement refers to the 
unhappy duel between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamil- 
ton, at Weehawken, New Jersey, July ii, 1804. This 
interesting entry shows with what feelings the long- 
absent explorers met Mr. Airs : — 

"After so long an interval, the sight of anyone who 
could give us information of our country was peculiarly 
delightful, and much of the night was spent in making 



The End of a Long Journey 355 

inquiries into what had occurred during our absence. 
We found Mr. Airs a very friendly and liberal gentle- 
man; when we proposed to him to purchase a small quan- 
tity of tobacco, to be paid for in St. Louis, he very 
readily furnished every man of the party with as much as 
he could use during the rest of the voyage, and insisted 
on our accepting a barrel of flour. This last we found 
very agreeable, although we have still a little flour which 
we had deposited at the mouth of Maria's River. We 
could give in return only about six bushels of corn, which 
was all that we could spare. " 

Three days later, the voyagers met a trading-boat be- 
longing to Mr. Augustus Chouteau, the founder of a famous 
trading-house in St. Louis. From this party the captains 
procured a gallon of whiskey, and with this they served out 
a dram to each of their men. " This," says the journal, 
" is the first spirituous liquor any of them have tasted since 
the Fourth of July, 1805." From this time forward, the 
returning explorers met trading parties nearly every day; 
and this showed that trade was following the flag far up 
into the hitherto unexplored regions of the American 
continent. 

The explorers, hungry for news from home, would have 
tarried and talked longer with their new-found friends, but 
they were anxious to get down to civilization once more. 
Their journal also says : " The Indians, particularly the 
squaws and children, are weary of the long journey, and 
we are desirous of seeing our country and friends." This 
quotation from the journal gives us our first intimation that 
any Indians accompanied Big White to the United States. 
He appears to have had a small retinue of followers — 
men, women, and children — with him. 

Below the mouth of the Platte, September 12, Lewis and 



356 First Across the Continent 

Clark met Gravelines, the interpreter who was sent to 
Washington from Fort Mandan, in 1805, with despatches, 
natural history specimens, and a Ricara chief. The chief 
had unfortunately died in Washington, and Gravelines was 
now on his way to the Ricaras with a speech from Presi- 
dent Jefferson and the presents that had been given to the 
chief. He also had instructions to teach the Ricaras in 
agriculture. 

It is interesting to note how that the explorers, now 
tolerably well acquainted with the Indian character since 
their long experience with the red men, had adopted a 
very different bearing from that which they had when 
coming up the river, in 1805. Here is an extract from 
their journal, September 14: — 

"We resumed our journey. This being a part of the 
river to which the Kansas resort, in order to rob the boats 
of traders, we held ourselves in readiness to fire upon any 
Indians who should offer us the slightest indignity; as we 
no longer needed their friendship, and found that a tone 
of firmness and decision is the best possible method of 
making proper impressions on these freebooters. How- 
ever, we did not encounter any of them ; but just below 
the old Kansas village met three trading-boats from St. 
Louis, on their way to the Yanktons and Mahas." 

Thirty miles below the island of Little Osage village, 
the party met Captain McClellan, formerly of the United 
States army. He informed Captain Lewis that the party 
had been given up for lost, people generally believing that 
they would never again be heard from ; but, according to 
the journal of one of the party, " The President of the U. 
States yet had hopes of us." The last news received in 
" the U. States " from the explorers was that sent from 
Fort Mandan, by Gravelines, in 1805. 



The End of a Long Journey 357 

Scarcity of provisions once more disturbed the party, so 
that, on the eighteenth of September, the journal sets forth 
the fact that game was very scarce and nothing was seen 
by the hunters but a bear and three turkeys, which they 
were unable to reach. The men, however, were perfectly 
satisfied, although they were allowed only one biscuit per 
day. An abundance of pawpaws growing along the banks 
sufficed as nutritious food. The pawpaw is native to many 
of the Western States of the Republic. It is a fruit three 
or four inches long, growing on a small tree, or bush. 
The fruit is sweet and juicy and has several bean-shaped 
seeds embedded in the pulp. The voyagers now began to 
see signs of civilization on the banks of the river. Near 
the mouth of the Gasconade, above St. Louis, they beheld 
cows grazing in the meadows. The journal says: "The 
whole party almost involuntarily raised a shout of joy at 
seeing this image of civilization and domestic life." Men 
who have been wandering in pathless wildernesses, remote 
from man, for more than two years, might well be moved 
by the sights of a homelike farm and a settled life. Soon 
after this the party reached the little French village of La 
Charette which they saluted with four guns and three 
hearty cheers. Then, according to the journal, they 
landed and were warmly received by the people, who had 
long since abandoned all hope of ever seeing these far- 
voyaging adventurers return. Here are the last entries in 
the journal that has been our guide so long across the 
continent and back again to the haunts of men : — 

" Sunday, September 21st, we proceeded; and as several 
settlements have been made during our absence, we were 
refreshed with the sight of men and cattle along the banks. 
We also passed twelve canoes of Kickapoo Indians, going 
on a hunting-excursion. At length, after coming forty- 



358 First Across the Continent 

eight miles, we saluted, with heartfelt satisfaction, the 
village of St. Charles, and on landing were treated with 
the greatest hospitality and kindness by all the inhabi- 
tants of that place. Their civility detained us till ten 
o'clock the next morning, 

" September 22d, when the rain having ceased, we set out 
for Coldwater Creek, about three miles from the mouth of 
the Missouri, where we found a cantonment of troops 
of the United States, with whom we passed the day ; and 
then, 

" September 2'^d, descended to the Mississippi, and round 
to St. Louis, where we arrived at twelve o'clock; and 
having fired a salute, went on shore and received the hear- 
tiest and most hospitable welcome from the whole village." 

The two captains were very busily employed, as soon 
as they arrived in St. Louis, with writing letters to their 
friends and to the officers of the government who were 
concerned to know of their safe return to civilization. 
Captain Lewis' letter to the President of the United 
States, announcing his arrival, was dated Sept. 23, 1806. 
President Jefferson's reply was dated October 20 of that 
year. In his letter the President expressed his " unspeak- 
able joy " at the safe return of the expedition. He said 
that the unknown scenes in which they had been engaged 
and the length of time during which no tidings had been 
received from them "had begun to be felt awfully." It 
may seem strange to modern readers familiar with the 
means for rapid travel and communication that no news 
from the explorers, later than that which they sent from 
the Mandan country, was received in the United States 
until their return, two years and four months later. But 
mail facilities were very scanty in those far'Off days, even 
in the settled portions of the Mississippi Valley, and few 



The End of a Long Journey 359 

traders had then penetrated to those portions of the Lower 
Missouri that had just been travelled by Lewis and Clark. 
As we have seen, white men were regarded with awe and 
curiosity by the natives of the regions which the explorers 
traversed in their long absence. The fijst post-office in 
what is now the great city of St. Louis was not established 
until 1808; mails between the Atlantic seaboard and that 
" village " required six weeks to pass either way. 

The two captains went to Washington early in the year 
following their arrival in St. Louis. There is extant a 
letter from Captain Lewis, dated at Washington, Feb. 
II, 1807. Congress was then in session, and, agreeably 
to the promises that had been held out to the explorers, 
the Secretary of War (General Henry Dearborn), secured 
from that body the passage of an act granting to each 
member of the expedition a considerable tract of land 
from the public domain. To each private and non-com- 
missioned officer was given three hundred acres; to Cap- 
tain Clark, one thousand acres, and to Captain Lewis 
fifteen hundred acres. In addition to this, the two officers 
were given double pay for their services during the time 
of their absence. Captain Lewis magnanimously objected 
to receiving more land for his services than that given to 
Captain Clark. 

Captain Lewis resigned from the army, March 2, 1807, 
having been nominated to be Governor of Louisiana Terri- 
tory a few days before. His commission as Governor was 
dated March 3 of that year. He was thus made the Gov- 
ernor of all the territory of the United States west of the 
Mississippi River. About the same time, Captain Clark 
was appointed a general of the territorial militia and Indian 
agent for that department. 

Originally, the territory acquired from France was 



360 First Across the Continent 

divided into the District of New Orleans and the District 
of Louisiana, the first-named being the lower portion of 
the territory and bounded on the north by a line which 
now represents the northern boundary of the State of 
Louisiana; and all above that line was known as the 
District of Louisiana. In 1812, the upper part, or Lou- 
isiana, was named the Territory of Missouri, and Captain 
Clark (otherwise General), was appointed Governor of the 
Territory, July I, 18 13, his old friend and comrade having 
died a few years earlier. 

The end of Captain (otherwise Governor) Lewis was 
tragical and was shadowed by a cloud. Official business 
calling him to Washington, he left St. Louis early in Sep- 
tember, 1809, and prosecuted his journey eastward through 
Tennessee, by the way of Chickasaw Bluffs, now Memphis, 
of that State. There is a mystery around his last days. On 
the eleventh of October, he stopped at a wayside log-inn, 
and that night he died a violent death, whether by his own 
hand or by that of a murderer, no living man knows. 
There were many contradictory stories about the sad 
affair, some persons holding to the one theory and some 
to the other. He was buried where he died, in the centre 
of what is now Lewis County, Tennessee. In 1848, the 
State of Tennessee erected over the last resting-place of 
Lewis a handsome monument, the inscriptions on which 
duly set forth his many virtues and his distinguished 
services to his country. 

The story of the expedition of Lewis and Clark is the 
foundation of the history of the great Northwest and the 
Missouri Valley. These men and their devoted band of 
followers were the first to break into the world-old soli- 
tudes of the heart of the continent and to explore the 
mountain fastnesses in which the mighty Columbia has its 



The End of a Long Journey 361 

birth. Following in their footsteps, the hardy American 
emigrant, trader, adventurer, and home-seeker penetrated 
the wilderness, and, building better than they knew, laid 
the foundations of populous and thriving States. Peaceful 
farms and noble cities, towns and villages, thrilling with 
the hum of modern industry and activity, are spread over 
the vast spaces through which the explorers threaded their 
toilsome trail, amid incredible privations and hardships, 
showing the way westward across the boundless continent 
which is ours. Let the names of those two men long be 
held in grateful honor by the American people I 



Index 



Alkali, natural deposits of, 60. 
Antelope, first seen, 29 ; how hunted, 69. 
Assiniboins, at war with Sioux, 49. 



B 



Beaver, hunted as game, 70. 

Beaver Head, 143. 

Big Dry River, 75. 

Bismarck, N. D., 44. 

Bitter Root Mountains, 147. 

Black Cat, a Mandan chief, 342. 

Boone, Daniel, 14. 

Buffalo, first signs of, 16; hunt, 51 ; curi- 
ous adventure with, 87 ; extermination 
of, 338- 



Caches, how built, 98. 
Calumet bird, 43. 
Camas, edible root, 179. 
Canieahwait, a Shoshonee chief, 157. 
Camp, first winter, 48; departure from, 

57- 
Candle-fish, 252. 
Cannonball River, N. D., 43. 
Captain Cook, 3. 
Captain Gray, 3. 
Captain Vancouver, 3. 
Carroll, Mont., 83. 
Carver, Jonathan, 5. 
Cascades of the Columbia, 262. 
Cathedral Rocks, 90-92. 
Cheyenne River, 40. 
Chinook Indians, 208 ; some account of, 

246. 
Chouteau, a St. Louis trader, 355. 
Christmas (1804), 52; (1805), 240, 



Clark, Captain, biographical notice of, 7; 

general of militia, 359. 
Clark's Fort, 48; river, 1S0-183; party 

overtaken by disaster, 142. 
Clatsop Indians, some account of, 248. 
Clearwater River, 183. 
Cloudburst, 116. 
Columbia River, discovery of, 4 ; portage 

to, 108; at the headwaters of, 148; 

at the entrance to, 194; great falls of, 

202; the great chute of, 215 et seq. 
Comowol, a Columbia River Indian chief, 

239- 
Condor, a California variety, 256. 
Council Bluffs, 19. 
Cowas, an edible root, 278. 
Coyote, described, 72. 
Crow Indians, 24. 



D 

Dalles, the, 266. 

Dearborn River, 130. 

Divide, on the great, 148 ; across the, 179. 

Dog's flesh as an article of food, 24, 185. 



Echeloot Indians, 210. 

Elk, hunting of, 251. 

Ermine, first seen, 49. 

Expedition, Lewis and Clark's, 7; orga- 
nization of, 8 ; route of, 10 ; sets sail, 
14. 

"Experiment," failure of the boat, 124 



Falls of the Missouri, loi ; description of, 

\\l et seq. 
Flathead Indians, 211. 



3^4 



Ind 



ex 



Floyd's River, why so named, 23. 
Forks of the Missouri, 135. 
Fort Clark, 48 ; Clatsop, 255. 



Gallatin's fork of the Missouri, 135. 
Gates of the Rocky Mountains, 132. 
Goose-nests in trees, 61. 
Gray, Capt., discoverer of the Columbia, 3. 
Grizzly bear, first seen, 40; thrilling en- 
counters with, 72, 76, T], 105, 115, 315. 



H 



Horse-flesh eaten by the expedition, 177. 
Hungry Creek, 178, 303. 



Independence Day, celebration of (1805), 

123 ; (1806), 327. 
Iowa Indians, 16. 
Islands, White Bear, no. 



Jefferson, President Thomas, 2-4 ; his 
letters to Capt. Lewis, 12 ; presents to, 
from Lewis and Clark, 55 ; welcome 
to Capt. Lewis on return, 358 ; name 
given to fork of the Missouri, 135. 

John Day's River, 203. 

K 

Klikitat River, 214. 
Kooskooskee River, 180. 



Lewis, Capt., biographical notice of, 6, 7; 
accidentally wounded, 341 ; announces 
his return, 358 ; Governor of Louisiana 
Territory, 359; his tragical death, 360. 

Lewis and Clark, pursue separate routes 
across the Divide, 140 ; also on their 
return, 310. 

Lewis's River, 165. 



Lewiston, Idaho, 185. 
Ledyard, John, 4. 
Lemhi River, 152. 
Little Devils, hill of, 23. 
Louisiana Purchase, the, 1-2 ; divided into 
two territories, 360. 



M 



Madison, fork of the Missouri, 135. 

Mandan Indians, 46 et seq. ; religion of, 
50. 

Maria's River, 97. 

Medicine River, 106. 

Meriwether's Bay, 234. 

Milk River, 74. 

Minnetarees, at war with Sioux, 49 ; ex- 
pedition has an encounter with, 318 ^/ 
seq. 

Missouri River, Little, 60. 

Missouri, the Upper, 80 ; great falls of, 
loi ; forks of, 135 ; at the headwaters 
of, 147. 

Mosquitoes, the great plague of, 126, 339. 

Mount St. Helen's, 198 ; Hood, 203. 

Mouse River, source of, 60. 

Multnomah (Willamette) River, 221, 259. 

Musselshell River, 81. 



N 



Nez Perc^ Indians (Chopunnish), 180; 

some account of the, 186. 
Noises, mysterious, 122. 



O 

Osage Indians, traditions of, 15. 
Ottoes, council with, 20. 



Pacific Ocean, first sight of the, 225. 

Pawpaw fruit, 357. 

Pemmican, 33. 

Platte River as a boundary, 17. 

Porcupine River, 70. 

Prairie dog, 29, 



Index 



365 



Quamash flats, 302. 
Quicksand River, 220. 



R 



Rat, peculiar variety of, 121. 

Ricitarees, in the country of the, 40. 

River, Little Missouri, 60 ; Mouse, source 
of, 60 ; Yellowstone, 65 ; Porcupine, 
70 ; Saskatcliewan, 74 ; Milk, 74 ; Big 
Dry, 75 ; Upper Missouri, 80 ; Mussel- 
shell, Si ; Slaughter, 88 ; Maria's, 97 ■ 
Madison, 106; Columbia, portage to, 
108; Smith's, 129; Dearborn, 130; 
Salmon, 152; Lemhi, 152; Lewis's, 
165; Kooskooskee, 180; Clark's, 180; 
Clearwater, 183 ; Snake, 188; Yakima, 
196 ; John Day's, 203 ; Klikitat, 214 ; 
Quicksand, 220 ; Multnomah. 220. 

Rocky Mountains, first sight of, 85 ; sheep, 
85; gates of the, 132; farewell to the 
mountains, 335. 

Rocks, Cathedral, 90-92. 



St. Louis, village of, 11; first post-office 

in, 359- 
Sacajawea, joins the expedition, 48 ; 

stream named for her, 82 ; story of her 

capture, 138 ; finds her own people, 

160 ; a tribute to her memory, 332. 
Sage-brush, first seen, 62. 
Saline County, Mo., 16. 
Salmon River, 152; City, Idaho, 165; 

abundance of fish, 194. 
Salt, made from sea-water, 235 et seq. 
Saskatchewan River, 74. 
Shannon, the lost hunter, 143. 
Shoshonees, first meeting with, 145 ; 

among the, 150 et seq.; some account 

of the, 171 et seq. 
Sioux Indians, 27. 
Slaughter River, 88. 
Smith's River, 128. 



Snake River, 188; junction of the with 

Columbia, 190. 
Sokulk Indians, some account of, 191 et 

seq. 
Spirit Mound, 24. 
Spring River, S. D., 42. 
Stone-Idol Creek, legend of, 42. 
Sweat baths, In^lian, 187, 298. 



Tetons, in the country of, 33-38. 
Three-thousand-mile Island, 331, 
Tillamook Indians, 244. 
Traveller's-rest Creek, 309. 
Twisted-hair, an Indian chief, adventures 
with, 282 ei seq. 



u 



Umatilla, 271. 



Vancouver, Capt., 3. 



W 

Wahkiacum Indians, 224, 

Walla Walla, 271. 

Wappatoo, edible root, 230 ; description 

of, 260. 
Weocksockwillacums, 265. 
Wharfington, commands return party to 

the U. S., 58. 
White Bear Islands, no ; camp at, 114. 
Whisky, Indian rejection of, 42. 
Winter camp, first, 48 ; departure from, 

57- 



Yakima River, 196. 
Yankton, S. D., 24. 

Yellowstone River, 65 ; Capt. Clark's de- 
scent of the, 327. 
York, a negro servant, 41, 159. 



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